What Were We Thinking? A Marichat May story
by CaptainMalcolmReynolds
Summary: Epcot97 and I have teamed up to present you with lots and lots of Marichat! One story every day! Are you ready? (I'm not...)
1. No Powers

_Chubby Unicorn Mama: I've teamed up with Epcot97 to tag team #MariChatMay2019. Some chapters I wrote, some he's written, and some we wrote together. We'll tell you who's to blame at the beginning of each chapter. Most chapters are standalone unless otherwise specified. I hope you enjoy reading these as much as we have enjoyed writing them. I also want to send a quick thank you to lillykleaf for letting me know the prompts for the month!_

_Disclaimer! Neither of us own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. If we pooled our money, we might just be able to buy someone's big toe. _

_Chapter 1 (Chubby Unicorn Mama): Marinette meets Chat Noir for the first time. Too bad her hands are all over someone else. But I'm sure there's a very good reason for that…_

Marinette Dupain-Cheng loved music. She loved the rhythms, she loved the melodies, she loved how music made her feel. She loved going to concerts, feeling other bodies moving in time to the music, their hearts all beating together. So when her friend Rose invited the class to a concert where the opening group was her band, Kitty Section, Marinette jumped at the chance. She had, after all, designed their costumes. Well… most of their costumes. The majority of the band had colorful costumes, Rose, Ivan and Luka wore unicorn masks, while Juleka wore a cat mask. The fifth member of the band was someone she had never met, but he refused to have his costume "made by an amateur". In fact, the only thing that she knew about him was that he played keyboard, and only wore black.

Shaking off any lingering bad feelings about the band's keyboard player, she was digging through her closet when there was a knock at her trap door. Calling out a "come in" that was barely out of her mouth before the door opened, and her best friend, Alya Cesaire barreled in, a dress over one shoulder, and her overnight bag over the other. "Marinette! What are you going to wear? Have you decided yet? You should wear that one you made. The one with the polka dots!"

Laughing, Marinette held out the dress she'd been considering, a knee length 50's style dress that was red with black polka dots. "This one?"

Alya's eyes grew wide. "Girl, I haven't even seen that one! I meant the pink one, but you should definitely wear this dress!"

"Well, you said 'the one I made'. I made all of these" She gestured around the room, "So that part doesn't really narrow it down. I just finished this one last weekend, and haven't had the chance to wear it yet!"

"You should definitely wear it! Luka's going to love it!" Alya enthused.

It was no secret that Alya was trying to set Marinette up with the older boy. Ever since she and Nino had started dating, Alya had made it her goal to find her best friend the same kind of happiness. While Marinette had never been interested in dating any of the boys that Alya was pushing her towards, she definitely had some kind of connection with Luka. "Alya", she sighed. "Luka and I are just friends. Please stop pushing us together."

"Fine, girl, whatever, go put on your dress, Little Miss Ladybug."

As Marinette put on her dress, Alya also changed into a dark orange dress with white accents. As the girls were finishing up their makeup, another knock came of the trap door. This time it didn't open until after the call to come in, and Marinette's father, Tom, stood there, with a plate of snacks for the girls. "I didn't want my favorite girls going hungry before the big concert" he said with a smile.

"Thanks Dad!" exclaimed Marinette.

Both girls ate a croissant, and grabbed another to take with them as they shrugged into their jackets, and headed out the door. Walking through the early evening air, they chatted about their friends, and how excited they were to see the concert. Alya ran a blog about local bands, and was telling Marinette about the keyboard player for Kitty Section.

"He's kind of a mystery. Nobody knows much about him… even his name. He goes by the stage name of Chat Noir, and won't answer to anything else. Lots of people have tried guessing, but he always keeps his mask on, even during closed rehearsals, so even his bandmates don't know who he is. He's shorter than Luka and Ivan… although most people are shorter than Ivan. Except, maybe, your dad." Alya joked. "A lot of girls think that he's really hot. I mean he's OK, and he does wear skin tight black leather, so if that's your thing…" She trailed off.

Rolling her eyes, Marinette laughed, "Oh yeah. Black leather. Such an original fashion choice!"

Alya bumped her friend's hip with hers. "Trust you to focus on the fashion. Come on. We can check him and his outfit out after the show. Hey! There's Nino!" Waving at her boyfriend, she towed Marinette along towards the entrance to the arena where Kitty Section was opening for Lenni Kim.

"Hey ladies! Glad you guys could make it! We're in the front section, over on the left." Nino guided them to their seats, 3 rows from the front, right in front of where Luka and the new keyboardist, Chat Noir would be standing. The friends chatted while they waited for the band to come out. It wasn't long before Kitty Section was introduced, and the members came out on stage, Ivan at his drum set, Rose at the microphone, The Couffaines on their guitars, and a boy in a black leather suit complete with a belt tail, black mask over his face, and a cat ear headband on his head… that MUST be Chat Noir thought Marinette… at the keyboard.

Nino, Marinette and Alya all cheered their friends loudly, Alya leaning over to compliment Marinette on the brightly colored masks and outfits she had made for four of the band members. As the band started playing, all conversation was rendered impossible, and all that was left was for the friends to dance and sing along. Smiling at her friends onstage, Marinette found her eyes drawn back to the boy behind the keyboard, the mysterious Chat Noir. She studied his outfit… it did appear to be professionally made, and very well done at that. It fit him like a glove, leaving none of his lean musculature to the imagination. What had Marinette entranced, however, was the design of the costume. Her fingers itched to explore the seams and study its construction.

Halfway through the second song, Chat Noir caught her staring at him. His bright green eyes caught her blue ones, and a smirk found its way across his face. He was used to people staring at him, and checking him out, but something felt different about the way she'd been looking at him, more curious than lustful, and he was intrigued. Under the outfit, and the wild persona he took on when he dressed as Chat Noir, he was the model Adrien Agreste, a boy who had never been allowed out on his own, and had almost no friends, especially of his own age. Even his own father didn't know that he had been slipping out of the house, only his friend Alexandre Plagg, his personal designer, who had made him the outfit, knew.

Having been caught staring at Chat Noir's chest (Were those pockets? What on earth could he fit in them?), Marinette blushed bright red, and shifted her gaze away to the other members of the band, but her eyes kept straying back to the boy in black. He caught her a few more times, and she blushed each time.

Once Lenni Kim came out onstage, Marinette left her friends dancing along to Don't Stop, as she made her way back to congratulate the members of Kitty Section. She was swept into an embrace by Rose and Juleka as she squealed to them about what a great performance it was, and how proud she was of them. Over Rose's shoulder, she grinned at Ivan, who grinned back at her and gave her a thumbs up. She was asking the group how their costumes had faired for them, if they were still comfortable after the full set on stage, and if they needed any adjustments as Luka walked in. While the others said that everything was fine, the masks were a little sweaty and rubbed against their foreheads, but they were under some serious spotlights that they were not used to, Luka said that he had the same problem with his chest plate above his shirt. Marinette had one hand on his chest, the other lifting up the front of his costume, checking where it met his t-shirt, when a male voice behind her commented, "Just couldn't wait to put your hands all over a celebrity, could you? Any one was good enough."

Turning the same color as her dress, and jumping back from Luka like he'd burned her, Marinette whipped around to see the source of the harsh words. There stood Chat Noir, leaning against the door frame, annoyance sparking in his eyes. Steel snapped into Marinette's spine as the other band members gaped slightly at their keyboardist's judgement of the situation. Pointedly turning her back on the boy who had first snubbed her handiwork, and now just insulted her, she turned to Luka and said, "You have a couple of options. The simplest would be to wear a shirt with a higher collar like the others do, or I can add some absorbent padding to the top of the plate, so it won't rub as you move your guitar. For right now, take it off, and clean and dry your…" She broke off, touching the base of her throat to indicate the area. "You're a little red, but no skin is broken, so the discomfort should go away pretty quickly." Turning to the others, she added, "Let me take your masks home with me, and I will add some absorbent padding along the forehead and anywhere else it was irritating you, so it will be much more comfortable next time."

Turning back to Chat Noir, she smiled icily and prepared to chastise him for jumping to conclusions. Instead, what came out was, "Your bell… is that a zipper?" Blushing again, she stepped closer, and added, "These seams are fantastic! Leather is so hard to sew. I was noticing earlier that you have pockets, too! That's just amazing! Whomever made this, really knows their craft!" She looked up at him, ice melted and eyes sparkling.

Completely taken aback, and not used to such unabashed enthusiasm, Chat Noir stuttered as he answered, "A f-f-friend of mine who is in the f-f-fashion industry." He rushed to add, "I assume you are the one who m-m-made the costumes for the others? They are f-f-fabulous."

He only thought she had been smiling earlier. When he complimented her work, Marinette's smile turned radiant. It lit up the room, and completely knocked Chat Noir off his feet. He knew at that moment that he would do anything to make her smile like that again.

"Thank you Monsieur Noir. I hope to be a designer one day, and making these costumes for my friends, to get them noticed in that competition that XY held, was so much fun!"

"Marinette is in our class at school," added Rose, indicating herself, Juleka and Ivan. "I bet she even made that dress she is wearing now!"

"It's true, I did." Marinette gave a little twirl, to the appreciative sounds of Rose and Juleka. Ivan gave her another thumbs up and a smile, and Luka added, "You are a very talented girl, Marinette."

Chat Noir's eyes never left Marinette as she talked and joked with her friends. Even after Lenni Kim had left the stage, and Alya and Nino had joined them, along with Mylene and several other of their classmates, Chat's eyes followed her every movement, widening every time she threw her head back to laugh, but never joined in any of their conversations.

Observing his bandmate's reaction to her, Luka, after a furiously whispered conversation with Chat, dragged him over to where Marinette was talking with some of the girls from his sister's class. Introducing them all to Chat, Luka then asked if he could talk with Marinette for a moment. He left Chat awkwardly standing next to Alya, as she pestered him for an interview for her blog. After talking to Marinette, and telling her about how shy their new keyboardist was, she immediately promised to befriend him, and suggested to the whole group that they go out for ice cream the next day as a post-concert celebration.

Many of their classmates had other obligations, and it turned out that the only two that would be able to make it were Marinette and Chat. She smiled at him, and said, "It's a date! I'll see you tomorrow at 11am." He blushed lightly and nodded, his heart already hers.


	2. Greek AU

_Chapter 2 (Chubby Unicorn Mama): The world of Greek Mythology arrives on Marinette's balcony in the body of one Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades._

_In addition to the normal disclaimer that I don't own Miraculous Ladybug, I also don't own the_ Percy Jackson and the Olympians_ series. (That's Rick Riordan)._

Ladybug had just reached her balcony and was letting her transformation drop, when out of the shadows stepped a young man of about 16. She swore that he had not been there a moment before, and then she swore out loud when she realized what he must have seen. Had it not been for the dark hair and eyes, she might have mistaken him for her partner. They both shared the same messy hair and painfully thin build, and this stranger wore black jeans and a black leather jacket, emphasizing his resemblance to Chat Noir.

The black sword that he unsheathed the instant that he saw her was unlike her partner's baton, and he slowly approached her, his eyes focused over her right shoulder. Shoving her roughly out of the way he lunged at a creature, its face flickering back and forth between that of a beautiful woman, and terrifying demon with sunken eyes and sharp teeth. Silently, both boy and monster were locked in combat, even the ring of metal on claws was dulled, until the creature slipped past the boy, and turned, its back facing Marinette. Snatching up the heavy physics book she had been studying before the akuma attack that had called Ladybug away, she whacked the creature in the head with it. This knocked the creature off balance enough for the stranger to stab it, causing the monster to explode into a shower of dust.

"What was that creature?" Marinette asked the boy, as her shock wore off.

He looked down at her, surprised. "What did you see?" He asked in heavily accented French.

When Marinette described the creature, down to the changing face, and the long talons, he drew in a deep breath. "That was a Mormo. The Ancient Greek ancestor of what is known today as a vampire. But how did you see it?"

That earned him a confused look. "How could I not see it? It was right there on my balcony! How did it get here? For that matter, how did you? And who ARE you?"

The boy grinned shyly. "Ah, well, that is a long story, and if I tell it, you may not believe me. My name is Nico di Angelo. I have been trying to get back home to New York. As for the mormo, well, the mist obscures the appearance of supernatural creatures for most mortals. Most people would have seen me trying to shoo away a cat, or something like that. You actually saw what was there. Who are you?"

"I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She said, shrugging. "I don't know why I would be able to see something that others couldn't." She shot a glance under the chaise where Tikki was hiding, "How come you could see it? Or do you normally shoo cats by stabbing them with a sword and making them explode?" She thought of the kitty that usually came to visit her balcony, and how she wouldn't let him anywhere near that wickedly sharp piece of black metal.

Nico looked at her, unsure of how much he should tell her; whether he should take her back to Camp Half-blood with him. "Do you know who your parents are?"

This earned him an odd look. "They're downstairs in the bakery. Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain. What about your parents?"

"That's where things get weird. My mother died a long time ago, and my father is Hades. Greek God of the Underworld."

Both Marinette and Nico were shocked when a small red creature floated out from where she had been hiding. "Hi! I'm Tikki! I am the kwami of creation. I may be the reason that Marinette can see through the mist. She is the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous. We need to talk to Plagg. Several of his chosen ones have been children of Hades. God of the Underworld and the kwami of destruction… it just seems to go hand in hand."

Marinette was staring at Tikki in a state of shock. "What happened to 'you must keep your identity a secret'? And you go and blab it to a complete stranger!" She smiled at Nico. "No offense or anything, but I'm not allowed to even tell my partner that I'm Ladybug, and you show up, and she pops up and tells you everything!" She hears his stomach rumble. "And I'm being a terrible hostess. Are you hungry? Can I feed you?"

Not waiting for an answer, but beckoning for him to follow, Marinette heads down through her trap door into her bedroom. She stops for a second and turns back to Nico as he climbs down off her bed. "Humor me. I'm going to need to explain to my parents how you got here. Just agree with what I'm telling them, even if it makes no sense to you."

Quietly sneaking down through their apartment, and out the side door, Marinette and Nico enter the bakery through the front door. Only a couple of customers are in the shop, so Marinette walks up to the counter and says, "Maman, this is Nico. He's visiting Paris on his way to New York, and got a little turned around after the akuma attack. Do you mind if he stays here for a little bit while we figure out what he needs to do?"

Sabine looked the boy up and down, then smiled at him and her daughter. "Of course not, dear. Make sure to feed him while he's here. We have leftovers in the fridge, and grab him a pan au chocolate or something, too."

She kissed her mother's cheek, Marinette said, "Thanks, Maman! You're the best!" She touched Nico's arm, and motioned for him to follow her up the bakery stairs. Once in the house kitchen, she heated up a plate of leftovers for each of them, and gathered another plate full of sweet treats, making sure she grabbed a few cookies for Tikki. They went back up to the balcony, after Marinette made sure that there would be no more mormos coming their way. Marinette was talking about Hawkmoth and his akumas and how they had been plaguing Paris for the past year, while Nico told her about his adventures with Percy Jackson and their friends aboard the Argo II, and how he was shadow traveling back to New York, but that it was exhausting, and monsters kept popping up everywhere. Marinette asked him about his Stygian Iron sword, and he unsheathed it to show to her.

They had finished their food, and Marinette had gone downstairs to refresh their snack tray, when Nico heard a soft thump, and looked up to see what appeared to be a human sized black cat on the roof above him. Marinette had told him about her partner, Chat Noir, although she didn't know his real name, and he didn't know that Marinette was Ladybug. Tikki had been insistent that he talk with Plagg, and Nico was looking forward to it. What Marinette had failed to mention was how protective Chat Noir was of her. Nico stood up, and waved at the newcomer, he forgot, however, that he still held the sword that Marinette had been looking at in his other hand. "Hello! You must be Chat Noir. I'm Nico. Marinette has told me so much about you."

Twirling his baton out in front of him, he replied, "Well she's never said a word to me about you! What are you doing out on her balcony holding a sword? And where is she? What have you done with her?"

At that moment, the trap door opened, and Marinette stepped into the tension filled rooftop. "Chat! You made it!" She stepped over to hug him, intentionally placing her body between the two boys. "Did you meet Nico?"

Relaxing marginally, Chat kept her close to his side. "The random guy standing on your balcony with a sword? Yeah. We met. Who is he, and why is he here?"

"His name is Nico di Angelo. He's a friend. Put your baton away and come sit down. He is here because Ladybug, or more specifically Tikki, Ladybug's kwami requested that he meet you and Plagg." When Chat threw her a startled glance, she added, "Yes, Chat, I know about kwamis. Tikki is adorable, and she insisted that Plagg meets Nico. He is a son of Hades, Greek God of the Underworld. It seems fitting that he meet with the kwami of destruction. Apparently, several of Hades' children have been wielders of the Cat Miraculous."

With that, Chat seemed more at ease, but he still vibrated with nervous energy. "That still doesn't explain the sword, Princess."

Nico's eyebrows rose at the nickname, and the familiar way that Marinette reached over absently to scratch around the black cat ears. He answered, "My sword is fairly unique. It's made of Stygian Iron, and Marinette saw me kill a mormo on her balcony with it, so it is fair to say that she was intrigued."

"Why were you killing a mormo on Marinette's balcony in the first place?" Chat asked, leaning not quite threateningly towards the Greek demigod.

"Because it seemed a better idea than being killed by a mormo on Marinette's balcony." He responded, shrugged and dragged a hand through his hair.

"Chat" Marinette chided. "He is here as a favor to Tikki and Ladybug. I think she means for you to take him home and let Plagg talk with him. I know that's scary for you, if you want to go and talk it over with Plagg, feel free to use my bedroom or the bathroom if you are more comfortable. I've left some cheesy bread on my desk.

With a hard look at the other boy, he dropped a kiss on Marinette's head, and dropped through her trap door.

20 minutes later he re-emerged and turned to Nico. "Come downstairs with me. Plagg would like to meet you, but I would prefer to keep my identity a secret. Marinette, is it alright if I hide out in your bathroom for a little while?"

Marinette nodded her assent, and the boys headed down into her room. Chat Noir headed into the bathroom, and a minute later, Plagg floated out through the door. The first thing he did was head straight for the cheesy bread. As he munched, he turned to Nico and asked him some questions about when he'd been born (the 1930s, but had accidentally hidden out in the Lotus Hotel and Casino for 70 years, when only a month had passed for him) and where (Venice, Italy, but he now lived at Camp Halfblood on Long Island in New York). Plagg asked him about his abilities, taking a great interest in the shadow traveling. In return, the little kwami talked to Nico about some of his half brothers and sisters that he had known, knowing that Adrien would be pressed up to the other side of the bathroom door, listening. He talked about how many of the Ladybugs that had been partnered with his Greek Demigods were themselves usually children of Athena, but one had been a son of Apollo. Nico smiled at that, and told Plagg that his boyfriend, Will, was a son of Apollo as well. Hearing that, Adrien felt himself relaxing a little more on the other side of the bathroom door.

Finally, it was obvious that Nico was struggling to keep his eyes open, so Plagg headed back into the bathroom to transform Adrien back into Chat Noir, so that they could let Nico sleep on Marinette's chaise. As the little kwami departed, Plagg left the young man with these words of wisdom, "Just remember with great power… comes a great need to take a nap."


	3. Kittens

_Author's Note: Epcot97 here – I've teamed up with ChubbyUnicornMama to tag team #MariChatMay2019, and this chapter, for May 3, is my first contribution to this project (so blame me, not her for this one) Sadly, neither I nor CM own any part of Miraculous, but with luck, we'll be asked to become part of the Writer's Room for Season 20._

_So, how effective is an adoption drive when you involve a spokescat like Chat? Exceptionally effective if you ask him. This chapter is loosely connected to the chapter for tomorrow, May 4, but noth have also been designed to stand on their own. Enjoy! -ep_

It had been an innocuous enough favor Marinette had asked of me.

I'd been visiting her at the Bakery after one particularly busy patrol with Ladybug – an akuma had been knitting her way across Paris, yarn bombing everything, including the Eiffel Tower – and had just polished off my second Belgian chocolate-filled croissant.

"Chat," she started, watching as I started to reach for a third from the baking tray. "I need some help."

Green eyes swung away from my prey and connected with her deep blue gaze. "I'm the purrfect cat for the job," I said happily. "What do you need, Princess?"

"I might have told you earlier that I was recently elected class president?" she said.

My heart sank immediately, for I knew where she was going. Chat kept the smile up, though.

"Well, I'm sponsoring a service project for the school tomorrow afternoon, and I'm coming up short in the volunteer department…"

I know, I thought. You'd even asked Adrien. Despite how easily she interacted with me as Chat, it was still touch-and-go when Marinette approached my alter-ego in person.

"Ahh," I said, inadvertently making an Adrien-like move by scratching the back of my neck with one paw. "The pet adoption event."

"Did I tell you about it already?" she asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"More or less," I replied. "Look, Marinette, I'd love to help—"

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Marinette cried, cutting my response short as she jumped out of the chaise lounge and wrapped me in a big hug, nearly knocking me off my cat perch on the upturned flower pot.

"Princess," I tried again, "I'm not sure it's a good idea. Ladybug is bound to—"

She pulled back from me. "I don't think she'll mind, Chat. It's for a good cause, after all."

Any further protests died on my lips when I saw the pleading in her eyes. "Of course, Princess," I sighed, resigned to my fate.

The next day, posters announcing the pet adoption event started to appear at school, prominently featuring an action photo of Chat Noir from the Ladyblog; it wasn't one of my better poses, but then again, I generally had no idea when Alya was out caturing our exploits. I frowned. Marinette's posters were promising pawsigraphs and photos with Chat for anyone who attended and adopted one or more pets.

It was going to be a very, very long day.

Grumbling as I took my seat in class, Nino tapped me on the arm. "Dude, what's up?"

"I—" I caught myself. What could I tell him? As far as everyone else knew, Adrien had already bailed on Marinette for a photo shoot that I'd only that morning cancelled so Chat would be able to make an appearance. I sighed. "I'm having a hard time with Ethan Frome," I said instead. "It was a long night."

"I hear you," he smiled grimly.

The rest of the day ground by. Normally I looked forward to spending time with Marinette, but I kept looking at the clock, wanting desperately to have it leap beyond my promise to the designated time for the patrol that evening with Ladybug. It didn't co-operate in the least.

Finally, classes broke for the day. As I packed up my bag to prepare for the charade of leaving for the non-existent photoshoot, Marinette caught me. "If you end e-e-early, come on back to help," she said.

"Absolutely," I replied with my trademark grin. "Good luck regardless."

"Thanks," she said. She paused, clearly wanting to say something else, but instead quickly hurried out of the room.

I watched her go and realized just how important the event was to her. Making a difference was so ingrained into her being it made the rest of us want to do the same. As I trailed her from the room, I decided it wasn't such a bad thing that she'd asked Chat to help out after all.

After narrowly avoiding Chloe and Sabrina at the main entrance to the school, I hustled down the steps and around the corner to a side alley beside the school. There was a slight nook behind a dumpster I had used before; I slid my bookbag into it and quickly transformed to Chat Noir.

Once the green glow faded, I extended my baton and rose up and onto the rooftop of the school, then scampered across to the courtyard. Peering over the edge, I could see Marinette helping the local refuge league get set up. Cages had been carefully arranged along the edges of the space, with several sets of tables for the adoptive parents to use in filling out the necessary paperwork. In one corner was a table and a single chair; it was pretty easy to see what that was for.

I flipped over the edge and landed in a cat-crouch next to Marinette. "Purrincess," I purred lightly. "You didn't tell me my cousins were going to be here," I said, inclining my head toward a bank of cages next to me.

She turned and smiled. "I had no idea your family relations were so… extensive," she laughed as she took in the multiple sets of kittens that were playfully roaming around what little space they had.

I stood and went to them. They were heart-achingly adorable, in various colors, sizes and shapes. Most seemed to recognize a fellow spirit traveler and tried to nuzzle up against my claw-tipped finger as I reached in to scratch them. A few, though, hissed at me and recoiled. "There's one in every crowd," I said, narrowing my wide green eyes at the protest.

I did a circuit of the room with Marinette and was surprised to find that it was all cats – predominantly kittens, but also two or three older cats who were just looking for some companionship in their feline twilight years. "These are all up for adoption?" I asked, incredulous. By my count, there were nearly a hundred animals looking for a new home.

"Yes," Marinette said sadly. "And these are just the ones we were able to get transportation for."

"Wow," I said, unexpectedly moved by the tragedy.

They all need homes. Every one.

"Ready?" Marinette asked, pulling me out of my reverie.

"Yes, Princess," I said.

She took me over to the seat I'd seen, and after carefully arranging my tail so I could properly sit down, I took up position. I didn't have long to wait, for Marinette's ad campaign had borne fruit: within minutes, kittens were being removed from their incarceration and being introduced to their new furever homes. Soon I had a line twenty deep of proud new parents, each of whom had to proudly show me the new addition to their family before the requisite photo and pawisgraph.

And what I was seeing was overwhelming: here, on the floor of our school courtyard, I was watching as unconditional love was being bestowed on these kittens – and being returned, too, if the rising din from all of the purring that was going on was any indication. I'd never experienced anything like it. Certainly nothing similar had ever been given so openly to this kitty or his alter ego either, for that matter.

Sure, on some level, I knew Father loved me, but it had never felt like what I was seeing in that space.

Tunnel vision closed in on me, and I kept focused on signing whatever was put in front of me and keeping the Chat grin plastered on my face for the photos. Emotionally, though, I was suddenly a mess, and had the clarity of conviction that I had no desire to return to the sterile environment I called "home."

At length, the crowd ebbed, and we were down to just a handful of cats. Thankfully, it gave me a chance to escape from the table and trot away from the event for a few minutes. I wasn't even paying attention to where I was wandering, other than the overwhelming desire to simply be away from all of it. To my surprise, when I finally returned to the here-and-now, I was tucked up into the façade of the school, knees below my feline chin, rocking slightly.

"Chat?"

I looked up, my masked green eyes taking longer than normal to focus. "Marinette?" I looked around. "How did you get up here?"

"Staircase," she said quickly. "What's wrong? I saw you leave the table."

"I…" The words got caught in my throat. What could I say that wouldn't sound pawsitively despondent?

I cleared my throat, tried again, but faltered, and wound up shaking my blonde mane and dropping it into my hands in pure angst. "I'm not sure I can explain it," I managed to choke out.

"Try," she said, after wrapping a gentle arm around my shoulders.

I looked up at here, and then down into the courtyard. There were still pockets of new families, happily sharing their joy with others and doting on their new addition. "That—" I started, using a claw tip to point to the gaggles of happily babbling people, "is nothing like what I see at home," I said finally. Turning to her, I said more frankly than I'd intended, "I've never felt that from anyone. I've felt it for people, but now I'm not even sure I've been able to express it in a way that they would understand."

I sat back, realizing Adrien was bursting through my Chat persona. But I couldn't help myself.

The arm across my shoulders squeezed into a gentle hug. "Chat, how could you possibly feel that way?" she said softly, leaning into me. "People care for you. The whole city cares about you." She paused. "And I definitely care about you."

I looked sideways at her. "You… you care about me?"

"Of course I do, Chat," she said, eyes shining. "Very much so."

My masked green eyes flicked down to the kittens. "Not like that, though," I said morosely.

She squeezed again. "Exactly like that, Chat," she said fondly.

I turned fully toward her, not exactly comprehending what she'd just said. "You don't love me," I said quietly. "Your heart belongs to Adrien. I'm a friend – a good friend, of course, but just a friend."

Her eyes widened. "That might have been true at one point," she said softly. "At least, until a certain black kitty dropped into my life." She paused, and smiled. "And started to eat me out of hearth and home."

I stared at her. My jaw may have even dropped.

"Yes, it's true," she said sweetly. "And I think you feel the same, too."

I thought about that for a moment. Deep in my heart, I knew she was right: and I'd been feeling it for some time, too. Every chance I could, I'd found a way to get to the Bakery or appear, unannounced, at her favorite sketching locations. Chat Noir had become a prominent part of Marinette's life; it had been so gradual, I'd not even recognized it had happened.

Clearly, one of us had, though.

"Are you sure?" I asked at length. "You're only seeing Chat Noir – are you in love with him, or the boy underneath the mask?"

Marinette smiled. "I'm in love with you," she said firmly. She ran a finger along the edge of my mask. "Whatever 'mask' you wear, Chat, you'll always embody the essence of what I love. Someday you'll be able to reveal who you are, but until then, I am more than content to have you – as Chat – in my life."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Very."

"Wow," I said.

She laughed. "Not exactly the response I was anticipating, Chat. You don't have even have a bad pun ready?"

"I am at a total loss for words," I said. "It doesn't happen often."

"No," she laughed again, "I don't suppose it does." She stood up. "Let's get back down there and wrap up, shall we?"

"Of course, Purrincess," I said, smiling as I stood up as well.

"Then I can take my own kitty home," she added, her eyes twinkling.

My masked eyes widened. "You're taking one of those home?" I said, slightly jealous. "What about me?"

She laughed harder. "Chat, not them – I figured I owed you a pastry or two for your efforts tonight."

"Ah," I said, cheeks flaming slightly. "Well, when you put it that way…"

"C'mon, Chat. Give a girl a lift?"

"Always," I said, scooping her up so we could drop down to the courtyard. Of course, it was really the reverse, wasn't it? For she'd given me the very lift my soul had been crying out for.

For like my newly adopted 'cousins' that afternoon, I, too, now had a home.


	4. Birthday

_Four: Birthday_

_Author's Note: Epcot97 here! ChubbyUnicornMama and I are working our way though #MariChatMay2019 and I get to do this chapter for May 4. Neither of us have heard back from the producers of Miraculous, so our hopes are dimming that we will work for them on Season 20. Needless to say, we also do not own any part of MLB._

_Can a fully costumed superhero successfully bake a birthday cae for the special person in his life? Not, perhaps, without some help. This chapter is loosely connected to the chapter from yesterday, May 3, and slightly feeds into tomorrow's chapter from CM – but you can read all three individually as well. Enjoy! - ep_

Why I thought I could cook while transformed, I'll never know. But Marinette's parents only knew me as Chat Noir, so when I approached them about doing something special for her birthday, one thing led to another and landed me in Tom's kitchen, claws and all, the Saturday morning of her special day.

It was doubly difficult as I'd never made a thing in my entire life. Having a personal chef will do that to a person, but I'd become determined that I would bake a cake for Marinette. Tom had been skeptical of the entire endeavor, but had agreed after Sabine nudged him. After my third attempt to crack an egg into the flour mixture resulted in another deep-sea expedition to remove the shell pieces, though, he'd had enough.

"Chat," he said, carefully tamping back his frustration with me, "let's take a break, shall we?"

"Of course, Monsieur," I said.

"There's coffee in the kitchen upstairs," he said, none too subtly ushering me out of the disaster I'd wreaked in the kitchen. Apparently one does not turn the mixer on full tilt with dry ingredients in the bowl. Good to know.

I slowly worked my way up the staircase, trailing poorly mixed batter and slightly disillusioned at my prospects. Sabine met me in the kitchen and looked past the flour that had covered most the front of my costume. I may have even had some in my hair. She put a steaming mug down on the counter, murmured something, and stole off to Tom's kitchen to ensure her husband hadn't decamped for parts unknown.

I plunked my head on the counter, feline ears wilting. I could even feel something sticky on my tail. Idly, I wondered if it was too late to book a private table at Philippe's Italian Bistro. It was a tough reservation to get, but throwing around the Agreste name might get me through the door.

What was I thinking? I thought gloomily. I'll be lucky if Tom even lets me into the Bakery proper after this.

"Chat?"

Marinette's cheery voice broke through my storm clouds as she crossed into the kitchen and took the barstool next to mine. I turned my blonde mane in her direction and ignored the shocked expression on her face as she took in my general disarray. "Happy Birthday, Princess," I said, trying to feign enthusiasm.

"Thanks…?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "Maman said you'd be here this morning, but I thought you'd be visiting me."

I grimaced. "I… I wanted to do something special for someone who is special to me," I said. "I talked your dad into helping and succeeded in destroying his kitchen and my prospects at a long, happy life with you."

Her eyes widened and I saw her surreptitiously check my ring. "You didn't—"

"No," I said, chuckling slightly. "I didn't dissolve any critical components of the kitchen, if that's what you're wondering. But I did manage to go through a dozen eggs and several pounds of flour." I pounded my head on the counter again. "The online video made it look so easy…"

She put a hand to my head and gently pulled an eggshell out from behind a feline ear. "What, exactly, were you trying to do?"

I turned my head back to her again. "I heard through the grapevine that you love chocolate cake," I said, obliquely refurring to a fishing expedition Adrien had gone on a few days prior at school. "It seemed like a sweet thing to make for your birthday," I smiled, adding, "literally."

Marinette looked at me. "You did, did you," she said.

"Yeah," I said, sitting up. "I may be an amazing superhero, Princess, but apparently I am hopeless when confronted with a cookbook."

"We may have to fix that," she said solemnly. "But first, let's get that cake out of the way."

My ears perked up. "You want to helpme?" I asked. "That could be dangerous, according to your father."

"Yes," she said, and I saw the determined look she took on when she was faced with a challenge that needed to be surmounted.

That made me nervous. "Uh, okay…"

She took me by the flour-covered paw and we returned to the Bakery kitchen. Tom and Sabine had managed to undo the worst of the damage, but neither was terribly excited to see me back in that space. "Honey," Tom said. "I'm not sure—"

"I will take care of this," Marinette said firmly. "Chat and I will make sure the kitchen is spic-and-span when we're finished."

Tom shot a look at Sabine, who smiled and shrugged. "All right," he said. "If you need me, I'll be upstairs."

And with that, her parents quickly evacuated.

Marinette turned toward me. "Ready?"

"Absolutely," I said.

"First," she said, handing me an apron, "put this on."

I held the cloth out. "I'm already wearing attire that can't be destroyed," I reminded her, raising a masked eyebrow.

"You need to get into the spirit of it, Chat," she said. "Humor me."

I pulled the apron on, gently weaving it over my feline ears, and tied it around my back. "Apron. Check."

She looked at my hair, glanced toward one of Tom's spare chef caps, and thought better of it; instead, she pulled on a pink polka-dotted number, well stained, that I knew was her apron. "Go to the cabinet over there and pull out the small tin of chocolate powder," she instructed. "I'll get the sugar, butter and eggs ready over here."

I trotted over and located the tin, and brought it back to her.

"Okay," she continued. "Next…"

Over the next hour, she carefully walked me through combining the ingredients for the batter, slowly mixing in the various parts until we had a richly dark colored liquid that I then carefully decanted into two circular baking dishes. I set the oven to the temperature she pointed to on the back of the tin, and then we set to work getting the filling and icing mixed up and stashed in the fridge for later.

While the cake perked along in the over, I helped her wash up the equipment we'd used. To my amazement, the kitchen remained in one piece, and by the time the buzzer on the oven went off, we'd managed to wipe down the final surface and thus eradicate the last of my earlier disaster.

I grabbed a towel and carefully pulled the two halves of the cake out of the oven, setting them on the trivets Marinette had placed on the counter. My feline sense of smell had gone into overdrive – the flavors blending in the air were the first indication that maybe I'd managed to pull off part of this project. "This smells good," I said. "At least, to me," I added, with a worried glance to Marinette.

"Oh, it smells divine," she assured me. "Now it needs to cool before we frost it."

"How long?" I asked.

"Half hour. We could shorten it if we put it into the fridge."

"Let's not rush it," I said, smiling.

"Uh oh," she said, catching the glint in my eye. "Why am I worried?"

"Don't be," I said, taking off the apron. "That just means we have time for a quick walk."

She looked at my stained costume. "Not like that, we aren't," she said.

I looked down. "Good point," I said. "Can I, uh, use your restroom?"

"Sure," she said.

I vaulted up the stairs and past Tom and Sabine, then up another flight to the bathroom. After locking the door, I stood in front of the mirror for a moment and tried hard not to laugh at the image I presented. "Plagg – claws in!"

The green wave of transformation washed over me, and Adrien appeared in the mirror, smarty dressed as always. Plagg floated up. "This is going well," he said, the sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

"It's getting there," I replied as I tossed him some Camembert. "Ready for the next round?"

"No," he said.

"Plagg – claws out!"

The green wave washed over me again, and a now perfectly normal Chat Noir appeared in the mirror.

One of the benefits of magic, my image laughed silently, is there are no dry cleaning bills.

I returned to the Bakery kitchen and raised eyebrows from Marinette. "Much better," she said.

I smiled. "Good. Do we still have time?"

Marinette flicked her eyes to the counter. While I'd been changing (as it were) she'd managed to remove the cakes from their circular prisons and put them on wire cooling racks. "Yeah," she said turning back to me.

I grabbed her by the arm and we scooted out through the side door to the kitchen. I held out my arms to her. "Now boarding," I said, smiling.

Looking somewhat askance at me, she jumped up into my waiting arms. "I thought you said walk."

"I wasn't specific about which one of us would be performing that task," I replied as I leapt up into the air.

"You and I have very different definitions of the term," she said as she tightened her grip around my shoulders.

"Clearly," I chuckled as I trotted quickly along the sides of the buildings that ringed the small park her Bakery fronted. One final leap and I was on my favorite rooftop overlooking the river and with a fabulous view of Notre Dame. Gently, I let Marinette down.

I'd done some prep work in the early hours of the morning prior to appearing at the Bakery. Light pink tissue paper streamers with just the right number of twists hung from the wrought iron railing we were next to; red and blue balloons were tied in two clusters of four to the railing, and carefully strung between them was my hand-lettered Happy Birthday! banner. All of it framed the magnificent view.

It wasn't much, but it was what a cat with no income (per se) could come up with.

"Happy Birthday, Princess," I said. "Thanks for letting me spend some of it with you."

Marinette had a wide smile and was clasping her hands to her chest. "Wow," she said appreciatively. "This is quite thoughtful."

"I'm glad you like it," I said as I unzipped my costume pocket and produced a small envelope. "These are for you," I explained as I handed them to her. "It's not much."

She slit open the envelope and removed the card; her eyes bulged out when the two tickets to the Jagged Stone concert fell out into her hand. "Chat! This has been sold out for months!" She looked at me and then back to the tickets. "And these are front row!" She looked back at me again. "How..?"

I smiled. "I have an in with Kitty Section, and they happen to be opening for Jagged," I said, hewing close to the truth, since I was the keyboard player for them. "They scored the tickets for me."

"This is absolutely amazing," she said, giving me a massive hug. "Thank you. And you'll come with me, of course."

My masked eyes widened. "Me? Uh, I assumed you take one of your friends…" I said. "Besides, I'd stick out like a—"

"You're coming and that's all there is to it," she said. "It'll be the perfect coda to the perfect birthday."

Well, that was going to be awkward. Especially since I had to be onstage with Kitty Section. As Adrien.

"Of course, Princess," I sighed, trying to fathom how I was going to pull off being in two places at once. Idly I wondered how Kitty Section would feel if a real cat stepped in on keyboards for them and then realized it might be a tad obvious who my alter-ego was if I pursued that path.

"The cake should be ready to put together and frost," Marinette said. "Ready to take the next step?"

I picked her back up and leapt to the railing, thinking about that for a moment.

"Yes," I said, answering more than just the question she had asked. "Yes, I am."


	5. CookingBaking

_Chapter (Chubby Unicorn Mama): Well, It's official. We were NOT invited to come write for Season 20. Something about "not actually being able to speak French"_

_ Following on after yesterday's story (very loosely), and will be connected to tomorrow's! Her birthday cake was (eventually) a success… so Marinette wants to teach Chat to cook._

Two weeks after her birthday, Marinette planned a surprise for Chat Noir. She was more upset than she'd realized she would be, when Chat Noir had, very apologetically, backed out of attending the Jagged Stone concert with her. He made some fair points, and even talked it over with Ladybug, and finally she had conceded that, for her own safety, she couldn't be seen out and about Paris with Chat. Even if they were just friends, she was the one "normal" person either of the superheroes could be connected to. It would be especially bad, because if Marinette was kidnapped or hurt, Ladybug couldn't show up, not that she mentioned that part to Chat. Instead, she'd accepted his reasoning, and taken Alya to the concert, and decided to offer him cooking lessons as compensation. He had been so eager to learn the day that he had baked her birthday cake, she wanted to teach him how to bake cookies. The fact that he had looked downright adorable covered in flour didn't hurt, either.

Last week, after the concert, Marinette had arrived home, to find Chat Noir hanging out on her balcony. She had immediately run to him, throwing herself at him so he had to catch her, and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you so much, Kitty! I had a wonderful time! I really wish that you could have been there! Kitty Section performed wonderfully. Did you know my friends are in that band? They are all so amazing and talented. And Jagged Stone! He gave me a shout out as the person who designs his album covers! It was the most amazing night of my life! The only thing better would have been if you were there, with me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squeezed him tight one more time, before putting her feet back down on the balcony, and twirling in sheer joy.

Chat Noir smiled. He had been there, as Adrien, when Jagged Stone had mentioned Marinette by name, waving to her from the stage, and he'd seen her megawatt smile from across the room. Up close, as it was now, it was completely dazzling. Fortunately for Chat, Marinette didn't seem to expect any kind of reply, coherent or otherwise, as speech was completely beyond him in that moment. When she offered him Saturday afternoon cooking lessons, he didn't hesitate, and nodded excitedly.

That's why, this Saturday, Marinette was sitting on her balcony, waiting for Chat to appear, with a neatly folded green apron with black lettering that read "This kitty is a pure bread". She knew that when he detransformed, any mess would disappear from his suit, but she had really wanted to make him something, and she thought he would appreciate the pun.

Soon enough, Chat appeared, bounding across the rooftops, to land with a gentle thud on her balcony. She leapt to her feet, grinning up at him. Holding out the apron, she said, "This is your uniform for our lessons. Keep it on, in case things get messy." Reading the motto on the front, Chat's face split into a grin. "You made this? For me?"

"Of course, Kitty. How many cats do you think that I'm teaching how to cook?" Marinette responded, teasingly. "Your first lesson today is one of the simplest. We are going to make chocolate chip cookies."

She turned to open the trap door into her bedroom, when she found herself engulfed in a warm hug. "Thank you, Marinette, this means more to me that you realize." When he pulled back, she realized that his eyes looked very shiny, but chose not to comment on it, instead just patted his arm and said softly, "You're worth it, Kitty."

Chat followed Marinette downstairs into the bakery kitchen. The store was closed up for the day, and would be closed the next day, as it was Sunday, so they had the place to themselves. Marinette's parents were out on their weekly date night, but had left instructions to make sure the place was completely cleaned when they were done. Tom remembered his experience trying to teach Chat to bake all too well.

First, they set to gathering the ingredients they would need: flour, sugar, eggs, baking soda, vanilla, and butter. Realizing they were very low on flour; Marinette ran down to the storeroom to grab another bag. She came back up the stairs with it slung over her shoulder as if it didn't weigh anything. Grinning, she tossed the bag to Chat so that he could open the top with a claw, so she didn't have to find scissors. Chat caught it, but almost dropped it again, not expecting it to weigh as much as it did with Marinette's easy handling of it. The only thing that prevented it from hitting the floor was his cat-enhanced reflexes. Marinette giggled, "Watch out, it's heavier than it looks."

After opening the bag of flour, Chat placed it on the counter, and ran his hands over Marinette's upper arms. "Princess, you are hiding some serious muscle there."

Swatting him away, Marinette answered, "I've been lifting the 50-pound bags ever since I weighed more than one. It's just what you do when your parents run a bakery!"

The two started to carefully combine the ingredients together, Marinette giving Chat a separate bowl to crack the eggs in, making the process of having to rescue the inevitable eggshells much easier. Once all the other ingredients were being combined in the mixer, Marinette gave Chat the go ahead to start adding the chocolate chips. That was the first time she caught him dipping a claw in the batter and tasting it. She told him not to, and explained the health hazards of doing such things in a commercial kitchen. The second time she caught him, she just smacked his hand away from the bowl, but the damage was done. They had moved on to scooping the cookie dough into balls the fifth time that Marinette caught her kitty with his claws in the batter. Feeling that he needed stronger discouragement than just a slap to the hand, she decided the better approach was to give him exactly what he wanted. So the sixth time she caught him sneaking a clawful of cookie dough, she was done. She had been returning from putting the cookie sheet in the refrigerator to chill the dough, and Chat had his back turned slightly towards her, shielding the bowl from her view, so she dashed across the room and leapt onto his back.

Startled, Chat stumbled forwards, only to bump into the counter, it digging roughly into his waist, bending him forwards slightly, with the weight of Marinette bowing him further forward. He didn't expect the hand on the back of his head, forcing his face down into the bowl of dough, as his hands were occupied with catching his body from falling completely forward onto the counter. Cackling, Marinette jumped off his back, and ran to the far side of the room, yelling, "You wanted to eat the dough, so eat it!"

Straightening up, he realized that he had dough clinging to his hair and eyebrows, and a mini chocolate chip stuck to his cheekbone, just below his mask's left eyehole, added to the liberal streaks of flour on his face, and egg white in his hair. He turned to face his giggling tormentor, only to see her stick her tongue out at him. Whooping, he darted across the kitchen after her, she was fast, but he was Chat Noir, and he caught up with her, pinning her against the refrigerator as he leaned in to tickle her side. Squealing, she squirmed against him, her head thrown back as she cried out for him to stop, laughing all the while.

Eventually he did stop, a smile splitting his face, and laughter in his eyes. Eyes that widened when he realized that his body was completely pressed up against hers, both teens breathing heavily from laughing. He jumped back a step, allowing her freedom of movement, but to his surprise, Marinette closed the distance between them, looking up into his face. Reaching up, she gently stroked his cheek, removing the chocolate chip, and popping it into her mouth. She cupped his face in her hands, running her thumbs along his cheeks and the bottom of his mask, brushing away all the flour and cookie dough that clung to it. After a brief pause, Chat felt her run her thumb across his bottom lip, even though he was fairly certain there was nothing there. When she slid her hands down to his chest, he was sure that his heart was beating so fast it was going to jump out of his chest and into her hands. His eyes locked on hers, and he could have sworn that she was getting closer. He realized that Marinette had pushed herself up on her tip toes, and he found himself leaning down to meet her. Their eyes fluttered closed moments before their lips met, softly asking and answering. A few seconds later, Marinette pulled back, her eyes opening to meet his, lips parted in a soft 'o' of surprise. Chat's hands tightened at her waist, although he couldn't remember putting them there, and he pulled her back in to kiss her again. This time when they broke apart, it was his tail that was the rogue body part, having wrapped itself around Marinette's leg. Chat lifted Marinette up, and set her on the edge of the counter, cookies completely forgotten, and stepped between her legs, so that neither of them had to stretch very far for their next kisses.

Her hands were tangled in his hair, and a purr rumbled from his chest, when Marinette pulled away suddenly. Chat looked at her, slightly out of breath, his eyes heavy lidded, but concerned. "What's the matter, Princess?"

She held up her hand that was sticky with the egg white that he'd transferred there by running his hands though his hair after picking out the bits of shell from the eggs he'd been cracking. His contented purr shifted to a self-conscious chuckle as he backed up, and ran his hands through his hair, unconsciously repeating the gesture that got him in trouble.

Hopping off the counter, Marinette kissed his nose, and then, humming a Jagged Stone song to herself, started to clean up the kitchen. Chat watched her work for a few moments, mesmerized by her, then hurried to help. Switching on the oven to preheat, the two pulled the chilled cookie dough from the fridge, alternating kissing and cooking as the trays of cookies went into and came out of the oven. Chat burned his mouth eating a cookie that had just come out of the oven, telling Marinette that a kiss was the only thing that would make it feel better. Pressing a soft kiss to his lips, she pulled the final cookie sheet out of the oven, and wondered aloud, "So… what should we do while we wait for these to cool?"


	6. Adoption Family

_Chapter 6 (Chubby Unicorn Mama): The final part in this mini arc! A direct continuation, where the cookies actually get baked. (Tikki is very relieved.)_

It was an enjoyable hour, the smell of cookies baking, warm cookies melting in their mouths, Chat only burned his mouth twice as he tried to eat cookies that weren't quite cool enough yet. Each time Chat told Marinette that the only thing that would make it feel better was a kiss, and she was happy to comply. Once all of the cookies were out of the oven, and the last of the dishes were cleaned up, the two took a plate of cookies up to the living room where they sat to watch a movie, Chat long having since given up on trying to beat her at video games. They sat on the couch wrapped in a blanket, a movie playing in front of them, neither of them paying attention to it. Chat had his arm wrapped around Marinette's shoulders, his claws running lightly through her hair. Marinette was curled up into his side, her head resting on his shoulder, listening to his heartbeat. Both of them shared a thought, although neither of them voiced it: this was one of the most peaceful feelings either of them had ever felt. It was like they had finally figured out where they belonged.

They were laying on the sofa together, Marinette's eyes were closed, and she was listening to Chat tell her a story, one that sounded familiar, but she couldn't place. She wondered if he had told it to her when she was Ladybug. It was a sweet story about a stray kitten that he had found as a child, that his father had absolutely refused to let him keep. She loved listening to the rumble of his voice as she had her head on his chest; it made her feel safe and comforted. As he spoke, she was idly drawing pictures of kittens on his arm with her finger, and her touch filled him with a sense of belonging, of coming home. Chat was almost at the end of his story, when they heard the front door open, and Tom and Sabine came in, the murmur of their voices drifting up the stairs.

Marinette detangled herself from Chat and walked over to the top of the stairs, calling down to her parents. "We're up here watching a movie. We baked cookies if you would like some." Smiling, her mother entered the room, giving each of them a hug, before reaching down to sample a cookie off of the plate. "These are excellent! Well done, Chat!" At that moment, Tom came in, smiling at the two, and hugging them, much in the way that his wife did. He, too, snagged a cookie, complimenting them on the excellent cleanup job that they did down in the kitchen, not that he doubted his daughter would do anything less. After taking his first bite, Tom's smiled widened, and he patted Chat Noir on the back. "Son, we will make a baker of you yet!"

"Thank you." Not sure if the compliment to his culinary abilities, or the fact that Tom had called him son and given him a hug was making his smile bigger, the earnestness in the words shone like a beacon in the room, and Sabine noticed how starved for parental affection the boy seemed to be. She smiled at the fact that he still wore his apron, although it had several streaks of flour and egg on it. The four stayed and chatted for a few minutes longer, before Tom and Sabine were heading to bed. Even on their day off, they kept their bakers' hours, although they often slept in until five on Sunday mornings. As they reached the door to their room, Sabine turned to the boy and asked if he would like to join them for lunch the next day. Chat's face lit up like they had offered him the world, and he eagerly accepted, glancing at Marinette for confirmation that it was alright. She just smiled at him and nodded, and Sabine wished them a good night, closing the door behind her.

Chat turned to Marinette. "Your mother invited me over!" He said, as if he couldn't really believe that it happened.

Marinette grinned up at him teasingly, and kissed him softly. "Was that the best part of your day, Chaton?"

"Yes", he breathed, then met her eyes. "No! I mean, this whole day has been a dream." He slipped his arms around her waist, kissing her softly, then resting his forehead against hers. "Your parents want to spend time with me. Even my parents don't want to spend time with me. And you. I have this amazing girl standing here in front of me. She kissed me. For the first time I can actually remember, I have kissed someone back. Someone who means the world to me. Marinette, this may just be the best day of my life." He reached out, smoothing a strand of hair behind her ear, then smiled a bit dazedly, and kissed her forehead.

"I hate to do it, but I will need to leave soon. Can I really come to lunch tomorrow?"

Laughing softly, Marinette traced his mask with her finger. "Of course you can, Kitty. You are welcome here any time you like." Taking his hand, she walked him up to her bedroom, and out onto the balcony. Sliding her arms around his neck, she kissed him softly one more time. "Go home, Kitty. I'll be here tomorrow. I don't want you getting in trouble. Sweet dreams." He moved to embrace her again, but she kissed the tip of his nose, and pushed him away with a hand to the chest. "You need to leave, Chat, before I ask you to stay and snuggle some more."

Chat Noir looked wistful at that, but knew he would be back the next day… that he was, in fact, welcome anytime. He almost asked her about the snuggling. It was so much nicer at her house than at his, not to mention Marinette was here, and he really liked being with Marinette. Laughing as if she could read his thoughts, she gave him a little shove. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Princess. Dream of me." With that, he extended his baton and launched himself onto the rooftops of Paris. He was halfway home before he realized he was still wearing his pure-bread apron.

The next day, Chat Noir was headed back to the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, when he realized that he didn't know which entrance they wanted him to use. Fortunately, as he drew closer, he saw Marinette up on her balcony, sketchbook in her lap, pencil scratching furiously at the page. Not wanting to disturb her creative inspiration, Chat perched on the railing, watching her sketches come to life. It was late spring, so he wasn't sure why she was drawing so many different glove designs, but she had pages full, everything from traditional woolen mittens to fingerless gloves with a convertible mitten top that appeared to be lined with something, but he couldn't tell what it was.

After a few minutes, Marinette looked up, startled to see Chat there, peering over at her designs. She slammed the book shut, then smiled up at him, almost shyly. He leaned over and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. Smiling, Marinette stood up so that she could kiss Chat properly. She slid her hands around his neck, while his went around her waist. Stroking the ends of his hair, she giggled. He pulled back, ready to be offended, when a cheeky smile stole over Marinette's face, and she said, "It's so much softer when it isn't full of egg." Chat chuckled briefly, then pulled her back into a more passionate kiss, nibbling at her lower lip, as her hands ran over his shoulders and down his back. When they surfaced again, needing to breathe, Chat's tail had once again wrapped itself around Marinette, this time hugging her waist. She giggled, still a bit breathless, as she tugged it gently, trying to convince it to let her go. Holding his hand, Marinette led him down into her bedroom, and down through the trapdoor into the rest of the house.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she called out to her parents, "Maman, Papa! I found a stray kitty on my balcony. May I please keep it?"

Reaching down to pull the chicken out of the oven, Sabine glanced over at her daughter and Chat's joined hands. "Of course you can, Sweetheart. Let's make sure he gets to eat something first, shall we? Hello Chat Noir, I'm glad you were able to make it today. We are having Coque au vin, I hope that's alright with you."

"That sounds delicious. Thank you so much Mme. Cheng."

"Call me Sabine, dear."

"And call me Tom" added Marinette's father, placing a basket of bread on the table, and walking over to engulf Chat Noir in a hug. "We're glad you're here, Son."


	7. Roommates

_Author's Note: I've teamed up with ChubbyUnicornMama to tag team #MariChatMay2019/#MariCatMay2019. This chapter - for May 7 - is my third contribution to this project, and asks the question: is there a situation where Marinette would find herself sharing an apartment with Chat? The characters have been aged up a bit for this edition, making them recent University graduates about to embark on new careers in Paris. Enjoy! - epcot97_

As we got ready to graduate from University, I became aware that Marinette had run into difficulty finding an apartment that a struggling fashion designer would be able to afford when she confided that factoid to Chat during one of my nocturnal visits to her at the Bakery. She was doubly worried since she started work at Chateau Le Blanc as a junior designer a few days after graduation, and wanted the issue of housing settled well before then.

"But why don't you stay here?" I asked. "I'm sure your parents would be fine with you living with them until you got yourself on your own two paws."

She sighed. "Maman said as much to me, Chat. But it's time for me to spread my wings. I need to be on my own, even it happens to be an apartment just down the street." She turned forlornly back to her tablet, where she'd been scrolling through apartment vacancies. "Well, at these prices, probably two districts over."

I popped down from where I'd been sitting on the railing and cuddled up next to her, my tail snaking around her waist. "Which one do you like the best?" I asked casually, a devious plan starting to form in my cat brain.

"Well, I can only afford-"

"Forget that for a moment, Purrincess," I interrupted. "If money were no object, which one tickles your fancy?"

Marinette looked at me. "Chat, what are you doing?"

"Me?" I asked innocently. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Why do you ask?"

"I think thee doth protest too much." She turned back to the tablet and scrolled. "This one. The views are magnificent, and it's one Metro stop away from my new office."

My masked green eyes went wide. It was a two bedroom flat with views of the Tower. I looked back at her. "Excellent taste, Princess," I nodded, having noted it was a corner unit, with separate balconies.

She sighed. "I'd have to have hit the big time in order to afford that," she said in a desultory fashion.

We looked through the listings a bit longer and then, after a luxurious stretch I could only do while transformed, I bid her adieu. "Early morning for this cat," I said apologetically.

Marinette looked at me. "Really?" she asked, and looked serious for a moment. "Chat, you don't have to answer this, but do you… do something as your alter-ego? Or are you some rich playboy waiting around for the next akuma attack?"

I smiled at her as I stood atop the railing to her balcony. "You're right," I said as I started to fall over backwards. "I don't have to answer that…"

Her question had been a bit too close to home. For both were true: as Adrien, I'd continued to model through college and had become something of a worldwide sensation (if I do say so myself). It had paid the bills for school and left me with a handsome bank balance – over and above my "rich playboy" trust fund. I suspected I'd be able to write my own ticket as a model for another five or six years before being supplanted by some new, young thing and had made some strategic investments to protect myself.

I made another the following morning.

That next evening, after wrapping a rather hostile akuma with internet trust issues (he'd gone by the name Tin Foil Hat Tom), I dropped by the Bakery and found Marinette still flipping through the apartment listings. I knew she was unhappy by the half-empty baking tray of macaroons.

"Princess," I said, as I landed on my favorite chimney flue, and then dropped down to the railing that overlooked her.

"Hey Chat," she said, distractedly.

"Wanna go for a walk?" I asked. "This kitty needs to stretch his legs."

"Not really," she replied, still scrolling. "I've only got a few days until graduation, and I really need to nail down something."

I plopped down beside her. "C'mon, let me cheer you up with an ice cream or something."

"I'm not in the mood, Chat," she said a bit sharply.

That only egged me on. I dropped my blond mane into her shoulder and started to rub my head against her, allowing a deep rumble of a purr to appear. She tried to fend me off, but in the end, I wound up atop her tablet, making a point of examining my claws while continuing to purr.

Marinette tried to stay angry but the smile wouldn't stay hidden; she finally reached behind my ear and scratched the one spot that drove me wild. Her touch could always melt me. I cracked open a masked green eye. "That's more like it," I said. "Now, you're coming with me, 'kay?"

"Fine," she smiled. "Where are we going?"

"Never you mind that, Purrincess,"' I said, standing up and retrieving my baton. Wrapping one arm around her, I leapt for the railing. "Please keep all hands, arms, legs and small children inside the ride at all times."

"Oh Dear Lord," she laughed as she tightened her grip around my chest.

I vaulted into the night and tried to obfuscate the path to her favored apartment. It was another moon-filled sky in Paris, with the white glow reflecting off of every surface and bringing unusual shadows to the city. It felt brighter and more cheery than normal to me, too, though it was likely just my happiness that I'd be fulfilling a desire for my soulmate.

We came around the final building and I carefully helicoptered onto the balcony that faced the Tower. I'd left the lights on from my visit earlier in the day, which created a homey, welcoming feel to the space.

Marinette unwrapped herself from me, slack jawed. "Tell me this isn't what I think it is?"

I unzipped a costume pocket and produced two sets of keys. "Happy Graduation, Princess," I said, handing her a set, but snatching it away before she could take them. "There is, however, a catch or two."

She looked at me. "I can't afford this, Chat," she said.

"It's taken care of," I said. "Now do you want to hear my terms?"

"Wait, what do you mean 'it's taken care of?'" she asked. "What did you do?"

"Just what it sounds like," I said, smiling. "You have to allow this cat of mystery some secrets."

Marinette looked at me, hard. "Is this legal?"

"I'm hurt you'd think otherwise," I said good naturedly. "But yes."

"Then how is this possible?"

"If it will help ease your mind, my alter-ego came into… some extra cash, as it were. And I figured out the best way to put it to use."

She continued to look at me. "But there are strings attached."

I nodded. "I want you to go into this with all of the facts."

"All right," she said. "I'm not saying yes, yet, but I am intrigued."

"Okay," I said, as I slid open the balcony door. It led into one of the two master suites. I had carefully staged it with furniture I knew she would like and was rewarded with a quick intake of breath. I hid my smile as I turned and led her through to the main space.

A modest kitchen filled with professional grade appliances was in the rear, with a full compliment of professional cooking equipment hanging from the ceiling. Two (and only two) barstools sat at one end of the island that separated the kitchen from the living room, where two place settings were awaiting us; a small Dupain-Cheng cake was waiting to be carved up. I continued her past that toward the main sitting area, where a couch and low coffee table were tastefully arranged to make the most of the floor-to-ceiling windows that faced the Tower.

And in the corner, a full set of design equipment was sitting, including a professional sewing machine, a mock torso, and whiteboard to one side and a massive 27" iMac Pro on flat design desk on the other. I'd queued up a few action shots of yours truly as part of the screensaver.

I led her to the couch, and she sat down; I perched, cat-like, on the coffee table, still holding her hand. "Condition one: you'll become the best fashion designer in Paris."

"Really?" she rolled her eyes. "And how am I going to do that?"

"This space feels like it would be conducive to creativity," I said. "And if you get stuck, that kitchen back there will let you work out your angst."

She nodded. "You've given this a lot of thought, Chat."

"I have." I grinned. "Condition two: once you are financial stable, you can split the expenses with me."

Marinette nodded again. "That seems fair…" she trailed off, eyes widening. "Wait just a moment – are you saying what I think you are saying?"

I grinned wider. "That's the third condition," I said. "I'm your roommate."

She stared at me. "You as in Chat you? Or your alter-ego?"

I'd thought about that all day. Even after close to eight years of working side-by-side with Ladybug, she had still insisted on anonymity – between us, and with anyone we were close to. I knew if I revealed who I truly was to Marinette, it would break an old promise to Ladybug. As much as I loved Marinette, I valued Ladybug's friendship too much to do it.

Someday, the time would be right. It just wasn't tonight.

"Me. As Chat." I winked. "I empty my own litterbox, in case you were wondering."

Her eyes widened. "How exactly is that going to work?"

"The litterbox? Well—"

"Not that, kitty," she said, exasperated. "You staying here, as Chat."

I squeezed her hand. "I don't know," I said honestly. "But I have a feline it will work out just fine."

She rolled her eyes. "With puns like that, no."

I held out the keys. "I don't expect an answer tonight, and it's totally okay for you to say 'Thanks, Chat, but I'll pass.'" I looked at her, and softly added. "You know I love you, and I just want you to be happy. That's it. Nothing else."

Marinette's deep blue eyes connected with my masked green ones. I watched as she considered everything, weighing the pros and cons of (let's be honest) potentially moving in with a man she really didn't know. And couldn't know.

Actually, that wasn't entirely true. We'd been seeing each other nightly on that patio over the Bakery for years now, and more regularly in other places throughout the city, though for the most part, we'd kept the relationship on the down low. I knew we'd moved beyond friendship into something more, and also knew I'd probably been more honest with her while wearing the Chat mask than any of my interactions with her as Adrien. So, she perhaps didn't know the name of the person beneath the mask, but she did know me.

I could see from her eyes, she had come to the same conclusion.

She reached for the keys. "When do we move in?" she asked.

"As soon as you want," I replied. "I'm already here," I laughed, indicating my costume, "since I didn't have a lot of things to unpack." I inclined my head toward the room we'd come in from. "That one is yours; I'll take the one on this side so you won't have to hear me come and go in the dead of night."

Her eyes widened, and she nodded. "I suppose you can't come up through the lobby," she said.

"Not my first choice, no." I paused. "I'm happy to come with you to break the news to your parents."

She smiled. "I'm not sure that would be helpful. I'll have enough trouble telling them I'm moving in with a guy let alone one who runs around in a cat costume."

I sat back. "They know me, though," I said defensively.

"I'm pulling your paw, Chat," she said. "But I can handle that on my own."

We stood up. "Take me back?" she asked.

"Absolutely," I said, pausing. "Is this what you want, truly?" I asked, worried slightly that she felt even a tiny bit of pressure from me. "I'm not kidding – it's okay for you to tell me to go jump in the Seine."

Marinette turned toward me. "Let me answer that, Chat," she said, and pulled me into an embrace topped off by deep, passionate kiss. My toes curled and we ultimately came up for air.

"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" I said happily.


	8. Mittens

_Author's Note: Chubby Unicorn Mama: This one's on me. I was wondering what would happen if Chat was wearing mittens, and had to activate his Cataclysm. Plus, you know, fluff and stuff. We still don't own Miraculous. Thomas Astruc didn't think the gloves I offered in exchange for the rights to Miraculous was quite a fair swap. _

_Ep: I don't get it. These gloves are so comfortable – they are worth more than all of the money in the world! (Can I keep mine?)_

_CM: It's May. Do you really still need gloves?_

The weather was turning colder, and Marinette HATED the cold. It was one of the side effects of being Ladybug. She felt the cold more acutely than most, and she wanted to make herself some gloves. The problem was that she was dating Chat Noir. As Marinette, not Ladybug. He didn't know. She didn't know who he was, either. He'd come to her, Ladybug her, and told her about his girlfriend. She'd cautioned him against revealing himself, because she was scared. Scared of what he might say, afraid he would feel that she had betrayed him, lied to him. So, here she was, making some gloves for Ladybug and Chat Noir, and she was going to have to get Chat to deliver them to Ladybug.

She pulled out her sketchbook and flipped to a particular design she wanted to try. She'd already made two different styles for Chat, unsure of what would work with his claws. The first was a typical glove design that had slits in the end for his claws. She thought that would work great while it was on, but wasn't sure about the on and off, whether it would snag in his claws. The second was a traditional fingerless glove design. The one she wanted to try now was a little more intricate. It looked like a traditional fingerless glove, but had a flip top, that came over to cover like a mitten. To cater to his claws, she would line the flip top with a sturdy, yet flexible, metal mesh, and she had just found something that she hoped would work.

The gloves for herself were much simpler, as she had no claws or anything to snag on, she was making herself the fingerless gloves with the flip top, just in case she needed dexterity in a hurry. Red with black spots, to match her suit; Chat's were black with green trim.

Her thoughts of her kitty must have summoned him, because a few minutes later, she heard him land on her roof. He barely had a chance to knock, before she was scooting up to the trap door to let him in. He landed on her bed with a slight bounce. "Hello, Princess! I missed you." Leaning forward, he gave her a lingering kiss, then slid down to the floor of her room. "What are you working on?"

"I have some things for you to try on!" She pulled out the two pairs that she had already finished for him to try on. She also pulled out the mesh. "I want you to scratch this with your claws. I'm thinking of lining a pair with this, but don't want to waste my time if your claws tear it apart like foil." Taking the mesh in his hands, he put his claws to it. He could tear it if he really put effort into it, but it would easily stand up to the light scratching that it was likely to encounter in putting his gloves on and off, as well as for everyday use.

Marinette clapped her hands. "Perfect! I'm so glad that works. Now here, try these!" she said, bouncing a little as she handed him the fingerless gloves. He slid them on, fleece lined leather, warm and cozy. He could feel their warmth, even through the gloves that were part of his suit. He noticed a patch over the ring finger of his right hand, and looked at it, curiously. Running his fingers over it, he felt that the glove was much thinner just there. Marinette noticed his scrutiny, and commented, "There is no lining under that circle, and the leather is a thinner kind. I was hoping you would be able to see your ring through it, so you could keep an eye on how many pads you had left." Chat had explained to Marinette several months ago, after they'd spent the day together, and his ring had started beeping about what the pads meant, something that she already knew, but pretended not to.

Chat held up his right hand, showing off the faint glow of his ring. It wasn't as bright as she had hoped it would be, but it was clearly visible through the leather patch. Sometimes she wished she had that luxury, but she was never able to see her own ears. Bending and flexing his fingers, Chat grinned at her. "It fits like a glove!"

Marinette glared at him before dropping her face into her hands. "I think that is your absolute worst pun yet." She groaned, shaking her head. "But I'm glad they fit well. I'll use that pattern to make the convertible mittens. Try these." She handed him the gloves with the slits in the fingertips, pointing out the claw openings to him.

Chat slid the gloves onto his hands, his claws snagging the fleece lining a few times as he tried to align the tips with the claw holes. It took several tries to get them on, the slits just not working quite as well as she had hoped they would. He peeled them off, and they caught on his claws once more. Shrugging, he said "Sorry Princess, I just don't think these ones are going to work for me.

Wondering out loud, Marinette asked him, "I definitely want your hands to be warm when you are out there, but if you need to call on your power, would the glove be considered part of your costume and ignored, or would it disintegrate your glove and waste your cataclysm? I would hate to make you something that would actually interfere with what you are doing or even cause you to be hurt."

Chat thought about that. "I don't know. I can try it if you want. Would you be upset if I tried it on the gloves with the slits, since they didn't really work?"

"Not at all. I want to make something that works for you, and those obviously don't. I don't think there's much of a market out there for gloves with claw slits and a ring window." She laughed softly. "Besides, I want to know!"

"Shall we go out on your balcony, then? As much as your parents have adopted this stray as their own, I don't think they'd appreciate me destroying things in your house."

The pair headed up to her balcony, and Chat, conscious of how his voice could carry in the cool autumn air, and not wanting to frighten Marinette's neighborhood, softly said, "cataclysm" and felt the power gathering in his hand. Immediately, he felt it drain away again, and from his right hand blew a pile of ash that once was a glove. Sighing, Marinette muttered, "Well, I guess that answers that question."

"That's alright, Princess. I can still wear them for trips over to your house, and anytime other than when I'm fighting an akuma. If necessary, I can pull them off and tuck them in my belt or a pocket for safekeeping. Plus, they'll match the beanie and scarf that you made for me."

"CHAT! You peeked! I told you NOT to go looking through my drawers. Curiosity killed the cat, you know." Marinette's disappointed look faded as she turned a mock glare on him.

A smug smile lit Chat's face. "Yes, but satisfaction brought it back. And they are purrfect for me. I especially love the ear slits in the beanie. They would have gone great with the slits in the gloves. Well, glove, now, I guess."

Marinette reached over and pulled a couple of things out of her drawer. One was a black beanie with ear slits, with green stitching around the ear slits and edge, as well as a green paw print embroidered on the front. The other was a black scarf, similarly trimmed in green. From another drawer she pulled out a set of flip top mittens, scarf and beanie (sans ear slits) all in red, trimmed in black. "I thought you and Ladybug could match."

Chat Noir looked at his girlfriend in amazement. Marinette knew that he had been in love with Ladybug before her, and yet she bore Ladybug no grudge. She'd even made them matching winter wear. With that simple gesture, he fell even more in love with Marinette than he already was. It was hard, not telling her who he was. He wanted to so many times. In school, Adrien just wanted to reach back and hold her hand, to stroke her hair, to kiss her in the hallway, or at lunch, or in the middle of class. That last one probably wasn't the best idea he'd ever had, but it didn't stop him from wanting it. He'd talk to Ladybug when he gave her the gift from Marinette.

He sat and watched Marinette as she added the mesh to the flip top for his mittens, and the tiny magnet that she added at the wrist to hold the top in place when he needed it out of the way. Chat was upset that he wouldn't be able to wear them all the time, and he kind of wanted a pair as Adrien, but didn't know how he would begin to ask for them. Maybe he should suggest that Marinette make a pair for herself, then Adrien could admire them.

He opened his mouth to suggest it, and she held up the left glove. "Done! Try it on and see how it fits. I know you won't be able to wear them all the time, but hopefully you will be able to get some use out of them."

"Thank you, Princess. I will wear them every chance I get."

Once the other glove was finished, he put on all four pieces, and posed for his girlfriend, right hand splayed by front of his face, similar to the start of his transformation sequence. Marinette laughed at his posturing, grabbed the ends of his scarf and tugged him in for a kiss. As they broke apart, Chat carefully stroked her cheek and smiled at her, feeling like the luckiest boy alive. He lost himself in her eyes, as a radiant smile played across his lips. He held her close, almost crushing her to his chest. "Thank you, Marinette. Thank you for everything. Thank you for the gloves, the hat, the scarf. Thank you for loving me."

Knowing that her kitty was feeling a little overwhelmed, Marinette simply slipped her arms down his back to encircle his waist, and squeezed him tight. They stayed there, holding each other, not speaking, just taking comfort from the presence of the other, until Chat's ring gave its first chirp. He smiled down at her, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear, and kissed her softly. "I have to leave, Princess. I will take Ladybug's set to her. There's something I need to talk to her about. Hopefully she'll be around tonight." He kissed the top of her head one more time, picked up the red set, and headed out into the evening.

As he approached his house, he popped open his baton and left Ladybug a message. He said that he would be around after nine that evening, and he wanted to talk with her. As he slipped into his room via the window he had left open, he transformed back into Adrien, a tired Plagg drifting down to the couch, while Adrien retrieved a wheel of cheese for him. "Plagg, we're going back out in a few hours. I need to talk to Ladybug. I want to reveal my identity to Marinette, but I need to tell Ladybug first. I'm not particularly looking for permission, just her advice. Plus, Marinette made her an awesome winter set, and I know how she gets in the winter. I might try and get her a sweater and some leggings, too!"

When he transformed back into Chat Noir, he had a message from Ladybug saying that she would meet him, but it better not take too long, didn't he realize how cold it was. He chuckled, thinking about how much she sounded like his Princess when it came to the cold. He started out to where she said she'd meet him, but backtracked after a block when he realized he'd forgotten her gift. He'd put it in a nice little giftbag, making it both look prettier and easier to carry. He arrived at their rendezvous spot first, but didn't have long to wait before he heard the telltale zip of her yoyo. As she landed, he handed her the giftbag. "My girlfriend made this for you. I've told her how much you hate the cold, and she wanted to make something to help." As Ladybug pulled out the scarf, hat and gloves, she immediately donned them, not paying too much attention to the handiwork, and sighed at the warmth they provided. "Thank you, Chaton, and thank your girlfriend for me, too. These are lovely and warm."

Chat grinned, and pulled on his own set. "And look! We match!" He smiled his trademark Chat smirk at her, but it quickly slid from his face as he looked at her seriously. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about as well. It's about M-my girlfriend. I want to tell her who I am. She means the world to me, and I need for her to know who I am. She's someone I see outside of the mask, too, and it's getting harder and harder not to approach her as myself." He stopped when he heard Ladybug gasp, and looked over at her, taking in her pale face and shocked expression. "Are you alright, Bugaboo?"

"Yes, Chat, it was just a shock to hear you say that. I-I need to think about what you said." Ladybug's mind was racing. She knew Chat outside of the mask? Why did he say that? What should she do? Would he hate her if he knew? "Have you thought it through? Do you think she will be safe if she knows? How will she react? Is she asking you to tell her?" She knew that last one wasn't true, but she was freaking out a little. She had no idea Chat wanted to reveal himself to her… well, Marinette her. And she knew him. That scared her more than anything else. How would he react if he knew? And who was he?

"She's not asking me to tell her. In fact, she's never mentioned it. She's smart and brave, and I know I can keep her safe. I always thought the first person I would tell would be you, but I need to tell her. I know you want to keep your identity safe. I just wanted you to know."

"Can you give me a few days, Chaton? There are some things I want to, no, need to tell you, but I need to figure out how to do it first. I'll meet you back here, same time in 3 days? Please don't say anything to her until then. For me?"

"Of course. Thank you for thinking about this. You really are the best, Ladybug!" Chat gave her a quick hug, and bounded back across the rooftops, not noticing how Ladybug slumped to the ground, head in her hands, wondering how she was going to get out of this one.

Back in her room, Marinette wailed to Tikki, "What am I going to do? He's going to tell me no matter what I say. I need to reciprocate. Especially since I know him, he's told me as much. If I don't tell him, he'll end up resenting me when we are able to reveal ourselves to each other. And I'd much rather tell him as Ladybug than as Marinette. It just seems easier, somehow. It will be less of a rejection if he never wants to talk to me again."

"It will be OK, Marinette. He loves you. He has fallen in love with both sides of you. He will understand. He said that he knows the civilian you as well, so he's been hiding the same kind of secret. I said not to share your identities to protect each other, but you're already found your way together, so it is dangerous either way. You have my blessing, Marinette!"

Three days later found Ladybug pacing as she waited for Chat Noir to arrive. There had been no akumas sent out that week, so she hadn't seen Chat (as Ladybug) since their last meeting. She was muttering to herself by the time Chat arrived (five minutes early), and all her nerves were on edge. Chat, on the other hand, was practically vibrating with excitement. "It's been a long three days. What did you decide?" He asked as he was bounding up.

"While I would much rather you wait, or not reveal yourself" She paused, hopefully. When he didn't say anything, she continued. "I feel that you have very valid and understandable reasons for wanting to reveal yourself, and it is definitely better to do so in a controlled environment, rather than the truth inadvertently coming out at some other point and causing potential mayhem." She took a deep breath. "Also, for that reason, I feel we need to talk about this, and tell each other first. There is something you should know about me before you leave, and I'm scared it will change your opinion of me."

"Milady, nothing you say could change my opinion of you. I'm thrilled that you trust me enough to share your identity with me." Looking up he saw something that he rarely saw: Ladybug looked terrified, uncertain and exceedingly vulnerable. "Would it help you if I went first?"

Mutely, she nodded, wringing her hands together as she stepped back.

Taking a deep breath, Chat said, "Plagg, Claws in." As the flash of green light engulfed him, Ladybug squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She felt Chat take her hands and squeeze them. "It's alright to open your eyes, you know. I'm still me, just without the ears."

Ladybug cracked an eye open, then slammed them shut again. That could NOT be Adrien Agreste standing there in front of her. There was no way that the boy who sat in front of her in class, the one she had crushed on for so long, was the same boy she'd fought akumas with, turned down repeatedly, and then had spent curled up on her couch, exchanging kisses with for a while now. "A-adrien?" she breathed.

He started a little at the sound of his name, but realized that his was a name most people knew. "Yes. It's me. Adrien Agreste." He laughed nervously. "The boy on every billboard."

Finally opening her eyes, Ladybug said, almost in a panic. "You are so much more than that, Kitty. Oh, that makes what I have to say so much worse. Well, not worse, worse. I mean, it does, but it's not because of you. Well, if you weren't you then this wouldn't be so hard. I just can't believe I never saw it. You are so much alike, the same kindness and bravery and sense of justice, always willing to help someone else out. How could you not be you?" She reached out to gently cup his cheek, but felt him stiffen slightly, and yanked her hand back. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I should really do this first, shouldn't I. I know I'm rambling, but I'm just so scared. Because you're Adrien, and I'm just, well, I'm me. You told me that I knew you, but I didn't realize how well I knew you. But I guess I need to do it and talking isn't going to make it any better so I should just show you who I am, ok, Tikki spots off!" The last sentence was said all in a rush, before the pink light engulfed Ladybug, leaving Marinette standing in front of Adrien. "Surprise?" She said nervously. "I really wanted to tell you, but I'd been telling you no for so long as Ladybug, because we really…" Marinette was cut off abruptly as Adrien leaned forwards and kissed her.

Able to finally touch her with his fingers, instead of through gloves, Adrien ran his hands all over her, down her arms, finally coming to rest in her hair. Marinette ran her hands over his head, messing up his hair, so he more resembled his feline alter ego, and traced her fingers across his cheekbones, now uncovered by a mask. Finally breaking away, and holding her hand out to her partner, Marinette said, "It's cold out here. Want to go home and snuggle?"

Grinning, Adrien stepped back and said, "Plagg, claws out." Holding his hand out to her, he swept her up in his arms. "Come on Princess, let me take you home. You know. I had this whole romantic scenario planned out as to how I was going to tell you who I was."

Marinette laughed against his chest. "Sorry to ruin it. You know that I don't need grand gestures. All I need is you." She stroked his cheek, and kissed his jaw, almost making him miss a step as he jumped from one roof to the next. "I love you, you know. I always have. First as Adrien, then as Chat."

Chat stopped and set her down, pressing her into an alcove of the roof to kiss her properly. "It's always been you. Ladybug, Marinette. I love you, too."


	9. Ice Skating

_Author's Note: Epcot97 here. I loved the two characters from my last chapter so much, I spun them into a new tale for the May 9th edition of #MariChatMay2019. This one takes a peek at what the very first Christmas for Chat and Marinette might be like, were they still sharing the apartment they found during the Roommates chapter. The characters have been aged up a bit for this edition, making them recent University graduates embarking on their new careers in Paris._

_ChubbyUnicornMama and I checked our bank accounts, but did not have enough between us to fly to ZAG and and make our case for an ownership stake in Miraculous, so naturally that means we still are on the outside looking in. Hope springs eternal, however._

_CM: Ep, when you're outside looking in, that's usually called stalking. Get away from that window._

A few days prior to Christmas found me bustling through the shops trying to find the perfect gift for Marinette. I didn't normally wait until the last minute, but it had been an amazing season for me as a model, and with my nightly obligations as Chat, there hadn't been a ton of excess time left over that I hadn't spent with Marinette herself. We'd been together in the apartment now for close to six months – well, technically, Chat and Marinette had been together – and it felt like the right time for a gift that would tell her how much it had meant to me that she'd taken the leap of faith.

So far, though, nothing had stood out. But truly I wasn't entirely sure what I was looking for, either.

It was getting late, and snow had started to gently fall. I wrapped the scarf Marinette had knitted for me years earlier a little tighter around my overcoat and sloshed down the sidewalk, ignoring the furtive glances as people recognized me. I smiled – I couldn't blame them. I seemed to be pasted everywhere, from billboards to placards. For me it was second nature now.

I rounded a corner and nearly took out Marinette. She'd been coming out of the corner store with multiple bags hanging from her hands. "Mari?" I said. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

"Adrien!" she greeted me warmly with a friendly hug and a quick peck to the cheek. "How are you? You never call!" she accused.

I smiled. I see you every day, Princess, I thought. "Work's been a killer," I said, inclining my head toward a billboard with my smiling visage on it. "And I'm terrible at staying in touch. How are you doing? I heard your designs were accepted into the Spring Fashion Show! Congrats!"

Her eyes widened. "How did you hear about that?" she asked. "I only just got the letter yesterday."

Oops!

She'd been whooping around the apartment when I'd returned from patrol with Ladybug last night. "I have sources," I said quickly, then added: "Who have you contracted with for the runway?"

"No one yet," she laughed. "Why? Interested?"

I thought about that. As Chat, I knew her design company was still small enough that they wouldn't be able to afford someone like me. On the other hand, it would give her a sizable boost in the market if I showed up on the runway for her. I fished out my wallet and pulled out the card for my agency. "Call Montserrat," I said. "Tell her I've already accepted – for scale."

Marinette's eyes bugged out. She knew exactly what I meant. "Are you sure?" she said, her eyes unintentionally travelling to the billboard again.

"Think of it as the Friends and Family Discount," I laughed. "Throw in some of your Belgian Chocolate-filled croissants and I'll day two for free."

Her jaw dropped. "Surely you're not serious," she said.

I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, pausing at her ear. "I am serious," I said. "And don't call me Shirley."

Mari smacked me in the arm. "Still a geek," she laughed.

"Guilty as charged." I peered at her bags. "Ah," I said knowingly. "You have a special someone now."

She blushed slightly. "Yeah," she said. "We've been together for… well, quite a while."

I hugged her, trying not to look into the bags too hard. "Good for you."

"I should go," she said.

"Yeah, I'm late too," I lied. "Great to see you again, Mari."

"Same, Adrien." She looked at me for a moment longer. "Do call, won't you?"

"I will." I smiled my world-famous smile. "And I'll see you in April."

"Deal."

We parted company and I headed down the street; when I found the first alleyway that was empty, I ducked in. Plagg floated out of my jacket pocket where he'd been keeping warm in what was left of a mitten Marinette had given Chat some time ago. "I am impressed at how long you've managed to keep this charade going, Adrien."

"It's not easy, but I love her, which makes it worth it."

"Love," he said, "is an aged piece of Camembert."

"Love can be many things," I laughed, "and I'm sure cheese is one of them. But I need help! What should I get her? I didn't get much of a peek into those bags of hers, either."

"Cheese?" he offered. "That usually works for me."

"Not helpful."

"Don't over think, Adrien. Do what your heart tells you."

"That is helpful," I said. "Let's get home and see if we can sneak a peek."

I transformed and climbed into the sky, sailing over the rooftops of Paris to our apartment, feeling somewhat serene as the snowflakes quietly but swiftly passed me as I moved. If I squinted just right, I could almost make believe I was travelling at warp speed. My balcony faced away from the Tower, and I gently dropped to the tile. Sliding the door open to my room, I could hear Marinette was already in the main space.

"Princess?" I called out. "Is it safe to come out? I hear tissue paper!"

"Chat!" she cried. "Stay put for a moment."

My feline ears heard her hurriedly replacing items in bags and hustling them to her room. Her door clicked shut, followed by: "Okay, it's safe."

I opened my door and peered around the corner, masked green eyes narrowing. "You know cats are curious, right?"

"Yes," she said.

"And that it's like catnip hearing tissue paper, right?"

"Yep."

"You have been warned," I said as I leapt from the door to her side in a swift move, planting a kiss on her lips.

"No peeking," she said, laughing. "And no unauthorized expeditions."

"I would nev—"

"You totally would." She poked me in the chest. "Remember when I caught you trying to listen on my conversation with Maman?"

"Occupational hazard," I said, using a claw to point to my feline ears. "Besides, once I heard the magic word—"

"Since when is 'croissant' a magic word?"

"When it's used in the same sentence as 'Chat really likes…'"

She smacked me again. "Promise me! No snooping."

I held up my paw. "On my honor as a Miraculous Holder, no snooping."

"Good." She looked behind me. "Did you have your tail crossed?"

"No, Princess," I laughed. "That would have been a bit painful, to say the least."

A take out bag was still on the counter, and my feline nose couldn't help but detect chicken curry from our favorite restaurant. "I thought it was my turn tonight," I said.

"My treat," she replied as she pulled containers out. "I ran into an old friend tonight, and he really made my day." She handed me a tin. "My year, actually."

"That's fantastic!" I said. I held up the glass of wine I'd poured. "To your friend."

She raised her glass. "To Adrien."

The following morning, I was a day closer to Christmas and no further ahead with my gift search. I wound up back on the streets late that evening after a full day of work and several hours on patrol with Ladybug. I'd debated asking Ladybug her thoughts but decided I didn't really want to bring up Marinette with her. I hadn't exactly asked her permission with respect to my living arrangements, although she'd taken it better than I expected when I finally fessed up.

I rounded a corner, but this time, instead of colliding with Marinette, I saw her in the distance looking through the window of a sporting goods shop. Somewhat cat-like, I pressed myself into a darker corner of the walkway and disappeared into the crowd. "Plagg," I whispered, "can you do reconnaissance?"

"No," came a small voice.

"Fine," I said. Looking around, I slid sideways into an alleyway and transformed.

I climbed up the side of the building and once on the roof, I leapt across the avenue and landed on a building that had a good view of the store Marinette was still in front of. With my better feline-enhanced vision, I could clearly see she was looking at the display of cold weather sporting goods, including a classic set of while figure skates.

That brought me back. It had been years since we'd been to the ice rink that had spawned an akuma; as far as I knew, it was still thriving, thanks to my testimonial ads for the rink owner. We'd both been there with different partners at the time, though – I'd taken Kagami, and she'd been there with Luka. I'd gotten a Christmas Card from the two of them this year, showing their new baby. Some parings were just meant to be.

But I wondered. Maybe this was what I'd been searching for.

Christmas day found me sitting on the coffee table, tail twitching, watching the lights on the Tower and idly wondering if Marinette would let me climb into the tree we'd put up. I was finding that more and more cat idiosyncrasies were appearing in my thoughts the longer I stayed in character as Chat. Climbing trees apparently was one of them.

I tilted my head in the direction of the Agreste mansion. Father would be there, alone, just as he preferred it. He only knew that I lived somewhere in the city and dropped by from time to time as needed; we had long since ceased to celebrate any holidays together. Or any other special dates. In my six months with Marinette, I had felt more love and appreciation than the years I'd spent with him.

A feline ear picked up Marinette moving in her bedroom. A moment later, her door opened and she appeared, padding out into the living space in a pair of cat-themed slippers. I raised a masked eyebrow. "Seriously?"

She yawned, her hair up in an informal bun, a few stray strands framing her beautiful face. "They were on sale. And I'm still in the 'struggling' part of my career."

She eschewed the couch and sidled up next to me on the coffee table. I wrapped an arm around her and leaned my head into her shoulder. "Merry Christmas, Princess," I said quietly.

"Merry, merry Christmas," she said, equally softly.

"Okay," I said brightly. "Time for presents!"

She looked at me. "What are you, like, thirteen?"

"Not anymore," I said proudly. "Although I feel closer to thirteen when in costume than any other time."

Something flickered across her face, but she continued to smile. "Doofus," she said fondly.

I rolled off the coffee table and grabbed two items from beneath the tree. I handed her the smaller one first. "Open," I commanded.

Carefully, Marinette pulled the paper away from the small box, and then gently flipped it open. Her eyes widened as she pulled out the small silver ring. She turned it in the light, and her eyes widened larger as the green garnet gemstones caught and reflected. "Chat…" she breathed.

"Put it on, Princess."

She slid the ring on, and held it so I could see the entire miniature paw print, comprised entirely of green garnet stones. It had been a challenge explaining the design to the jeweler as Adrien; I'd been tempted several times to transform and show her the original it was based on. Fortunately it hadn't come to that.

"This is stunning," she said. "Thank you."

"I wanted you to have a little piece of me with you all the time," I said. "I figured big, black and day-glow green might not work best for you, so I came up with this instead."

She leaned forward and kissed me. "It's adorable and I'll wear it always."

"Clawsome." I pushed the bigger box toward her. "Open."

She laughed. "What's the rush?"

"You'll see in a moment," I said. "Open!" I said again, and I leaned down into an expectant position, tail twitching.

"Incorrigible," she said. Slowly she peeled away the paper and revealed the pair of figure skates she'd been looking at. She looked back at me. "Chat…?"

"Look inside the boot."

She opened the box and pulled out one of the boots, reached in and pulled out a card. Looking at me quizzically, she slit the card open and read it aloud. "Roses are pink, violets are blue," she started, raising an eyebrow, "I've rented the rink just for you."

I smiled. "But we have to go, like, now."

"I don't understand-"

"Go change," I encouraged. "I'll wait."

Less than fifteen minutes later, I gently lowered us helicopter style outside the ice rink. I'd arranged with the owner to have it open at this ungodly hour, and he was waiting for us at the door.

"Chat Noir," he smiled. "It's ready as you requested. The door will be locked behind you."

"Thank you," I said. "Enjoy Christmas with your family, Monsieur."

He held the door open and we entered. Most of the lights were off, save for the ones that illuminated the rink; holding Marinette's hand, I walked down the main aisle and led her to the bench just to the side of the rink.

A massive Christmas tree was in the exact center, perfectly decorated for the season and fully lit. That was part of the normal holiday atmosphere of the rink; what wasn't was the multiple pounds of rose petals I'd ordered and had scattered around the ice. Softly playing over the speakers was the immortal jazz soundtrack from A Charlie Brown Christmas, setting a wonderfully romantic mood.

"This is gorgeous," Marinette said. "But I still don't understand why we are here."

"Hold that thought," I said, "and put on your skates. I need to change into something more appropriate."

"All right," she said, skeptical expression on her face.

I leapt over the railing and trotted down the darkened hallway toward the changing rooms. Once I was far enough away from Marinette, I stopped and dropped my transformation. Plagg floated close to me as I fished out my tin of transformation cheeses. "I remind you again how much I detest these transformations," he said, frowning as I pulled out the blue wedge.

"I know, my little friend, but it's the holiday." I held it out to him. "Besides, there is a massive wheel of Camembert in our bedroom for you."

"You… you got me a gift, too?" His little green eyes went wide.

"Yes," I said. "Merry Christmas, buddy."

He looked like he was on the verge of hugging me, but thought better of it, and instead downed the cheese.

I retransformed; with the help of the special cheese, my costume adjusted into Ice Mode, sporting snowflake accents and a pair of ice skates instead of my usual boots. I quickly trotted back to the ice and found Marinette waiting for me at the entrance.

"Nice," she said. "I like your hair, too."

"My hair?"

"It's a bit whiter," she said. "It matches your costume."

"Thanks, I think." I held out a paw and helped her onto the ice. We started a gentle circle around the tree.

"I've not been here in years," Marinette said as we moved.

"Oh?" I said, knowing full well the last time she had been here. "Well I'm glad I got you to come with me." I swiveled around and skated backwards in front of her, still holding her as if we were ballroom dancing. "I needed a special place to explain to you how much knowing you – how much loving you – has meant to me over the years."

"Why an ice rink?" she said.

I pivoted her around me in a slow move. "It's a metaphor," I said simply. "On the face of it, skating looks easy, when it's anything but. The surface is tantalizingly smooth, but it covers tiny cracks that can become wide gaps with little effort."

I lifted her up and twirled her over me, putting her down at my side. "And like most things, it is best tackled with a partner who will be there to support you when you crash and need to haul yourself back up, all black and blue, and try once more to be perfect."

I pulled her around and into a hug. "Skating also represents fear; you can easily speed up and rush away from danger, leaving it all behind. But again, with a true partner, you have no need to run; instead, you can turn and face fear, together."

I pivoted her again, noting it was our third loop of the rink. "You are that partner for me, Princess. You pull me back up when I fall, you help me face my fears and keep moving forward. You support me in everything. I have no idea how I can ever, ever return the favor." I leaned down and kissed her as we slowly rotated together. "But I am going to try my best, every day, to do it."

I spun her out and she stopped a few meters ahead of me. "Your love means everything to me. I just needed a cool way to show you why."

Marinette was holding her hands to her face, her eyes glistening. "Chat…" she said. "You were doing so well until the pun…"

I laughed. "Sorry. But it was genuine."

"I know," she laughed as she skated to me and hugged me again. "And, I won't be as eloquent as you, but suffice it to say I feel the same way."

"So now you know why the rink."

"Yes," she said. "And I will never forget it, either." She paused. "Merry Christmas, Chat."

I buried my head in her hair, feeling as though the world was finally perfect. "Merry Christmas, Princess."


	10. Victorian

_Author's Note: I've teamed up with ChubbyUnicornMama to tag team #MariChatMay2019. This chapter - for May 10 - is my fifth contribution to this project and gives me my first opportunity to send poor Chat into an alternate universe. Watch as he teams up with an oddly familiar Lady Dupain to thwart a thief lurking at Versailles… -epcot97_

I was no stranger to being thrown into an alternate reality; more than one akuma had messed with the space-time continuum, including one nasty episode where I had to relive my early days as superhero. But as I pressed myself into the cold stone behind an archway, I was forced to admit I might be a little over my head this time.

My first clue that I was no longer at Versailles, at least the Versailles Iremembered, was the gas-fed wall sconces that were attempting – and failing – to dispel the evening gloom from the hallway I was in. Mere moments earlier, I'd been in this very space battling an akuma with Ladybug; though still period-looking, the sconces had LED bulbs now.

We'd not battled it long enough to name it; in fact, I'd tried to intercept a bolt of something nefarious it had shot a Ladybug only to discover my baton couldn't deflect it. It hit me and a moment later, I was standing in this darkened hallway, spinning my baton and realizing I wasn't in Paris any more.

At least, my Paris.

I heard voices coming toward me and scanned for some way to stay concealed. The light didn't extend to the vaulted ceiling, so I leapt up and used my claws to cling to the plaster upside down, and held my breath.

Two women were moving toward me, engrossed in conversation. One was fairly tall, with ravenesque hair and deep blue eyes, the other was darker in complexion with rich brown hair. Both were wearing flowing dresses with wasp-waists and hats that I'd only seen in fashion museums. Raven Hair had a pearl necklace and similar looking earrings; her companion was wearing a necklace with a pendant that matched her orange and white dress.

My masked eyes widened. If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn it was the Fox Miraculous.

The taller of the two was speaking. "Where will the drop happen?" she asked.

"Out in the gardens, milady," her companion said. "If we hurry, we should be able to contain the situation."

Raven Hair looked worried as she passed below me. "And no word yet from Lord –"

"No, milady."

Despite their dresses, the ladies picked up the pace and hurried down the hallway. I flipped around the archway, dropped down into my cat-crouch and then quietly loped behind them. Something about their conversation led me to believe I might be helpful, so I decided to stay close.

At an intersection in the hallway, the two unexpectedly parted, with Raven Hair going the wrong way. The exit to the gardens was to the right; she'd gone left. I also knew that Fox Hair would be able to double back and come in behind me. Despite my stealth, I'd somehow lost the element of surprise.

I kept in my crouch, and then bounded up to the ceiling again, clinging to the side of an unlit chandelier and waited. As anticipated, Fox Hair appeared in the hallway I'd been running down. I smiled. I'd learned a few things from Ladybug over the years.

The smile was quickly wiped off my face, though; a moment too late, I heard the telltale ziiing!of a certain yo-yo. I leapt from my hiding place, intending to evade the missile, but despite my cat reflexes, it was countered immediately. I felt the business end wrap itself around my torso.

"It's me, Ladybug!" I cried as I was yanked out of the air, mid-leap, and crashed to the marble.

I hit hard, the wind knocked out of me; I started to try and disentangle myself from the cord and failed to hear Fox Hair behind me. She brought the business end of something down on my blond mane and the world blacked out.

When the world returned, I found myself on a period perfect four poster bed, complete with canopy. My head was pounding and the world swam a bit as I pressed myself up into a seated position. The room was dark, but my night vision saw Raven Hair sitting on an overstuffed armchair in the corner.

"You're awake," she said, the voice oddly familiar.

"Yeah," I said, rubbing the back of my head with a paw. "You didn't have to clobber me," I added, turning to Fox Hair. She was quietly stationed to one side of the bed. "I'm purrfectly safe."

I saw her glance to Raven Hair. "He sure sounds like him, Lady Dupain," she said.

Lady Dupain?

Raven hair stood and moved closer. "But the costume is wrong," she said.

"I think you're confusing me with someone else," I suggested helpfully.

"Maybe," Raven Hair replied. "But you're a Miraculous Holder and I need your help."

My masked eyes widened. "How can you know that—"

"You're wearing the Cat Miraculous," Lady Dupain pointed out. "Lord Noir wears the same ring as you, and he's currently missing." She stood next to me. "I don't know where you came from, but clearly you're here because we need you."

The resemblance to Marinette was striking, as if she'd been a courtesan during the Victorian era. Her dress evoked the colors I'd seen her in daily; her hair had been expertly braided and sat atop her head in a bun. I knew it wasn't myMarinette, but something in my DNA told me I needed to help her. "All right," I said, sliding to the edge of the bed. "Fill me in."

"I have an… item," she started, after glancing to Fox Hair, "and it was stolen from my chambers earlier this week. I've discovered enemies of the state have a spy here at the palace attempting to spirit it away, and become aware that they will attempt to pass it on to their contact tonight. Your untimely arrival has delayed us in taking up positions to stop them."

I heard most of what she said, but her deep blue eyes were exactly like Marinette's, and her hair, despite the way it had been done up, still framed her nearly perfect face the way I'd seen it daily for years. It wasn't hard for me to follow my heart on this one. "What do you need me to do?" I asked.

"Our original plan involved Lord Noir protecting Lady—" Fox Hair started.

"Me," Lady Dupain said quickly, interrupting Fox Hair. "Mistress Cesaire, thank you, you may go."

"Milady!" Fox Hair said. "I won't leave your side."

Lady Dupain looked at me. "I'll be fine," she said, smiling. "I think… what is your name?"

"Chat Noir," I replied, taking her hand in my paw and kissing it, "at your service, milady."

"Chat Noir," she continued, "will be able to handle it from here. Go find Master Lahiffe and meet us in the gardens at quarter to the hour."

Fox Hair curtsied. "As you wish, milady," she said, glaring at me as she left the room.

"Alya is quite protective," Lady Dupain said, smiling. "As is Lord Noir." She touched one of my feline ears. "His are a bit different, but the two of you have very similar styles."

"Thanks, I think."

She continued. "We'll leave shortly for the gardens. With your night vision, you should be able to quickly track our prey—"

"Interesting choice of words, milady," I said.

"—as well as who they are passing the info on to. I need to capture both of them." Lady Dupain looked at me intensely. "I don't really know you, but in some respects, I feel like I've known you all my life. I know without asking that I can trust you."

I nodded. "You can, Princess," I said automatically.

That brought a smile to her face. "Lord Chat calls me that all the time."

"He has good taste." I stood, ignoring the wave of vertigo brought on by the lump from Mistress Cesaire. "Show me the way."

It was a moonless night, perfect for passing on illicit goods. Lady Dupain and I entered the far side of the hedge garden; my feline ears quickly picked up the placement of Mistress Cesaire and Master Lahiffe, who'd cleverly taken positions on possible exits from the space. Lady Dupain was holding a lantern, which illuminated the lower portion of her face in a most gothic fashion.

"If we are correct, they will try for the swap at the north end. It's the most secluded location, and the furthest from the palace."

"Got it." I looked at her for a moment. "If it comes down to reclaiming the item or destroying it…?"

"It must never fall into the wrong hands," she said.

"Understood." I turned to go, but she grabbed my arm.

"Chat," she said softly. "Be careful."

I smiled. "Always, Princess."

I turned again and leapt off into the night, moving quickly through the hedges toward what we thought would be the rendezvous point. Halfway to it, I picked up the crunch of boots upon the gravel walkway and silently dropped into a crouch, allowing my feline ears to track the source.

There.

I stealthily trotted behind the hedge, keeping pace with the footsteps. Whoever it was, they were definitely heading for the spot we'd identified.

Boots crunching on gravel from the opposite direction reached me, and I knew we were about to have the meet-and-greet. I quietly leapt on top of the hedge, balancing carefully on what I could, and waited.

A woman rounded the hedge carrying a small lantern, a shawl draped across her head. She looked up in my direction but apparently didn't see me and kept on walking. I had tried not to gasp: she looked exactly like Nathalie.

I waited. Nathalie-lookalike paused at an opening in the hedge, and the other boots came closer. At length, a tall man with grey hair appeared wearing spectacles. He was the spitting image of my Father.

"Do you have it?" I heard him ask.

"Yes," Nathalie said, as she pulled a cloth-wrapped item from her small handbag. She held it in one palm and carefully unwrapped it.

My feline vision clearly saw the Moth Miraculous.

That is quite the item to have stolen, Princess,I thought. But it was all I needed to see.

Ignoring who appeared to be standing in front of me, I pulled out my baton and used it to spring from the hedge, landing next to Nathalie. Without waiting for them to register what was happening, I grabbed both the Moth Miraculous andher handbag for good measure, and quickly pole vaulted away from them and into the night. The spy and her handler had the good sense not to make a scene and attempted to scurry into the night to avoid detection – not that it did them any good. I was able to hear Alya and Nino intercepting them as I crossed back to where Lady Dupain was waiting.

I dropped down next to her in a crouch, and held out my paw. "You need better security, Princess, if this is what they stole."

Lady Dupain frowned. "I am aware of that now, Chat," she said tartly. "Believe me, it won't happen again."

"Good," I said, handing her the purse. "You might want to check that as well."

Her eyes widened but she dutifully opened the bag. An eyebrow went up as she removed the Peacock Miraculous from the interior. "I didn't realize this was missing as well," she said quietly. She looked at me. "How did you know?"

"Just a guess," I said, not wanting to tell her I'd long harbored suspicions about my Father's assistant. This little escapade wasn't helping my paranoia.

She knelt down in her dress and reached around me. "Thank you, Chat," she said, kissing me on the cheek. "I can't repay you in any way."

Somewhere in the back of my head, cinematic strains of romantic music had sprung to life. "Well, Princess," I started. "I have a thought—"

Lady Dupain pressed a finger to my lips. "You are so much like Lord Noir," she laughed.

"I'll take that as a compliment," I said around her finger, "I think."

She leaned in and replaced her finger with her lips, and kissed me deeply. My ears perked up and I found myself breathing a bit hard when she pulled away. "That'll work," I smiled.

"Now," she said, "let's see if we can't get you back home."

I frowned. "I'm not entirely sure how I got here in the first place," I said. "An akuma seems to have pushed me here—"

She nodded and started to unfasten something from her waist. "Then I suspect I can send you back," she said thoughtfully.

My masked eyes widened as I realized what she was pulling away from her gown. It was the Ladybug yo-yo, cleverly camouflaged within the taffeta folds of the dress. I understood now why I'd thought Ladybug had somehow met me in the corridor earlier; it had been Lady Dupain the entire time. There hadn't been the glow of transformation, either, before the yo-yo snagged me; I should have connected the dots then.

Lady Dupain caught my stare and smiled. "Magic is still very much a part of the Court at Versailles," she said, smiling. "There's no need for me to hide my identity." Her eyes flicked to my ears, and then she gently reached forward and ran a finger along the edge of my mask. "It seems that's not the case where you come from, sadly."

"It's not," I said.

"You look good with a mask," she smiled, wider. "I'll have to recommend that to Lord Noir. Though it will likely go straight to his head."

"Yes," I replied with a broad Chat grin.

She started to spin up her yo-yo. "Ready?"

I leaned in and kissed her one last time. "Now I am," I smiled as I pulled back. "Thanks for opening my eyes."

"To what?" she asked.

"Possibilities," I answered cryptically.

She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Your Lady Dupain is in for trouble when you get back, isn't she?"

"First I have to get her to admit she's Lady Dupain," I laughed. "But yes."

"Good luck with that," she said, then tossed her yo-yo into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The ladybug helpers burst into life and swarmed down from the sky, surrounding me with their red-white luminescence. I felt the barest of electrical thrills through my costume, and then the world exploded in a flash of light.

Once the stars had faded from my vision, I found myself standing on the Bakery rooftop patio. Marinette was just beside me, a hand on my shoulder. "Chat? Are you okay?"

"Yes, milady," I said without thinking.

"You quite literally just popped into being," she said, a bit awed. "Where were you? I… heard… you were fighting an akuma with Ladybug at Versailles and went missing this afternoon."

"What time is it?" I asked.

"2317," she said.

That meant I'd been… elsewhere… for more than six hours. Wild.

I turned toward Marinette. "I'm not entirely sure where or when I was," I said, my eyes sparkling, "but it was something of an education." I pulled her into a hug. "And I'm very happy to be back with you, bugaboo," I added, slightly emphasizing my endearment.

Her eyes narrowed at me. "I think you are mistaking me for someone else, Chat," she said. "I usually go by 'princess.'"

"Of course, milady," I nodded sagely.

Marinette looked at me thoughtfully. "I don't know what you thinkyou know," she started, "but you might want to walk that back a bit before you get into hot water, kitty," she said, slightly emphasizing Ladybug's normal endearment for me.

"At the risk of completely destroying your metaphor, that ship has already sailed… Ladybug."

Marinette groaned and dropped her head into my chest. "Incorrigible," she muttered. "What am I going to do with you, kitty?"

"Love me," I said simply.


	11. Masked Ball

_Eleven: Masked Ball_

_Author's Note: ChubbyUnicornMama and Epcot97 are tag teaming #MariChatMay2019; this chapter - for May 11 – is the first of several that we've written together, so you can spread the blame equally this time out. Part two of this story comes out tomorrow. _

_In our continuing quest to become part of the ownership structure for Miraculous, we've been sending gift baskets to ZAG. We had no idea they were allergic to kiwis, however, and now are the proud owners of a Cease-And-Desist order._

_EP: Hey, I wrote about a ball once before! It was *sweet* (snort snort cackle cackle)_

_CM: *rolls eyes* Yep I read that one. This was really fun to write. Please don't kill us. Well, don't kill me. I'll gladly offer up Ep as a sacrifice if necessary. (Sorry, not sorry)_

_There's mischief aplenty when a Masked Ball appears on the social calendar. All of Marinette's friends are going – even a certain cat-themed superhero, who makes an unusual costume request of her. _

**Marinette**

5 of us squealed with excitement. Alix looked bored. "A costume ball? Really? Everyone getting dressed all fancy. Why would I want to go to something like that?"

"You could dress as your favorite extreme athlete!" I told her. "The only requirement is a mask, but we could do goggles or sunglasses as part of your costume."

"You have to come with us! It wouldn't be the same without you!" Rose squeaked excitedly. "We should all go together!"

Juleka mumbled, "We should bring the boys from our class, too."

Alya and Mylene nodded.

I was thrilled. Nadja Chamak had just announced that there was going to be a costume ball for all the youth of Paris, ages 13-18, at the Grand Paris Hotel. It was a wonderful excuse for me to try out my newly learned leatherworking skills, and I already knew the costume that I wanted to make. I had been looking for an excuse to try to copy my, that is, Ladybug's partner's, costume. It already came with a mask, so that would be perfect. I couldn't copy the eyes, but I had an idea for that as well. Tuning back in to my friends' conversation, I realized that everyone's encouragement had Alix agreeing to go as well, just so she wasn't left behind if everyone else was attending.

We spent the next hour or so discussing possible costumes, and everyone had an idea of what they wanted to be. I had a month to put my costume together. I hoped that I could get it done on time. As I walked home that evening, I felt that someone was watching me. Looking over my shoulder, I didn't see anyone facing my direction. I wasn't alone on the street, it was still a reasonably busy time of night, but nobody seemed to be acting out of the ordinary.

I walked another couple of blocks, still feeling the eyes on me, when I thought to look up. Glancing around at the rooftops, I spotted Chat Noir. He'd been visiting by balcony off and on for a while now, and I would consider us friends. Of course we were friends when we were in the suits, best friends, even, but I was fairly sure he didn't have many friends, so I became a shoulder to lean on when I was not wearing my spots. I waved at Chat, and he waved back, pointing in the direction of the bakery. The question was clear, would I meet him on the balcony? I gave him a thumbs up, and he went back to running the roofline, a smile on his face.

When I made it up to my roof, he was already there, lounging in one of the chairs, eyes closed, smiling up at the sky. I dropped into the chair next to him. "Did you hear about the ball? Don't let this go to your head, but I want to go as you. Would you be willing to come visit for a few days so I can draw up the details of your suit?"

He grinned his charming kitty grin. "Of course, Princess. You can look at any part of me you want, anytime! There is one condition, though. I want you to make me a costume, too. I will pay you for your time and the materials, but I want you to make me a Ladybug costume. I can't promise you to get her to come over and let you look up close, but I can ask her."

I laughed at his request. I didn't need Ladybug to come over and model for me. I knew that suit inside and out. "I would be honored to make you a Ladybug costume. I can get your measurements when you come over to let me look at your suit. I'll have to find a way to hide your ears and tail, though. Are either of them removeable?"

"The tail does come off." He replied. "Ladybug had borrowed it several times for her lucky charms. I can definitely take that off. The ears, unfortunately, are attached."

"This is going to be fun!" I said to him, bouncing slightly, then leaning over to hug him before I thought better of it. "I'll have to think about some way to hide the ears, and to potentially keep your tail, but knowing that it is removable is good information to have!"

I ran inside and grabbed my sketchbook, and started to rough out some ideas for the ladybug suit while he watched. There was no way for me to get my suit on and off, but I knew that wasn't going to work for him, so I had to find a place to hide a zipper. There were some other aspects of the ladybug suit that I considered, and wondered how authentic he wanted to get with the costume. Teasingly, I looked at him and asked, "So, how accurate do you want this suit to be?"

Looking at me, he said, "As accurate as possible, of course, I want people to really think that I am her."

I felt my smile split my face. I loved teasing Chat. For as smooth as he acted, he certainly was easy to fluster. "So, would you like me to add padding to the suit, or are you going to wear something underneath."

He looked at me with a confused tilt to his head. "Padding? What do you mean?" I curved my hands over my chest, indicating the area I was planning to pad, and watched the blush crawl up his neck and stain his cheeks. "Uh, maybe not that accurate. No padding."

I laughed again and patted his arm. "OK, Chat. No padding." The relief on his face made me lose it completely, and I was still laughing as he leapt off the balcony and into the night.

**Chat Noir**

My head was still in the clouds the following evening as Ladybug and I wrapped an uneventful patrol. Normally that would seriously worry me, for Hawkmoth tended to lay low for a few days and then pummel us immediately afterward – and we were on the wrong side of that bell curve. But I couldn't get the thought of going to the ball with Marinette out of my mind, nor her willingness to make me a costume. As I landed next to Ladybug on our final rooftop of the evening, I knew I was still wearing the goofy smile I'd had when I'd left the Bakery the night before.

"You look like the Chat that ate the canary," Ladybug observed with a smirk.

"Sorry, milady," I laughed. "I'm a bit distracted by your beauty this evening."

Her eyes narrowed. "And how that's different tonight than any other night...?"

"Fair point," I smiled. "But I did need to ask you something," I added, catching the fact that she was prepping to launch herself for home, wherever that might be. "If you can spare a moment."

She clicked open the yo-yo to check the time. Clearly she had to be somewhere tonight. "Sure, Chat."

"You know the Masked Ball that will be taking place in a bit at Le Grand Hotel Paris?"

She nodded.

"I'd like to go with a… friend," I started.

Her eyes widened. "Not as Chat Noir, I hope?"

"No," I said, smiling. "As Ladybug."

"I see," she said, not nearly as surprised as I'd expected her to be. "I hope you're not planning on me loaning you my costume for that." She paused. "Or the earrings, for that matter."

"While that would make the task easier, no. But I was wondering if you could spend an hour or two with my friend? She's making the costume from scratch and would be helpful for her to see it up close." I tried not to look too eager; it wasn't lost on me she'd not told me to go out of the gate.

Ladybug looked pensive for a moment. "All right," she said. "I think I can do that. Who's your 'friend?'"

I laughed as she had used air quotes on the "friend" part of her sentence. "We're still just good friends, LB. I've not forsaken you – yet."

That made her smile.

"You might remember her – we protected her during the Evilstrator akuma? Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

She nodded. "From the Bakery," she said.

"Exactly! I'm headed over there tonight after we part ways so she can take my measurements. I can let her know you'll be stopping in." I pulled her into a hug. "This means a lot to me, milady. Thanks for not saying no."

"I'm a sucker for tough luck cases," she laughed. "See you tomorrow evening."

I watched her sail off into the night, thankful again for having been paired with such a remarkable woman. Once I lost sight of her, I turned and leapt into the evening myself, headed directly for Marinette and the Bakery. While we hadn't set a specific time, I'd assumed she'd be expecting me once I'd wrapped with Ladybug. But as I approached the rooftop patio, though the lights were on, she was nowhere to be seen.

I landed on my favorite chimney and leapt down to the railing. My eyes spied her sketchbook and the accoutrement for a designer of her caliber: tape measures, fabric swatches, pins and scissors. She was definitely expecting me.

Rolling off the railing, I went to the skylight and lightly tapped at it with my claws, then pressed my feline ear to the glass. The space was empty, but that could mean anything – if I was really lucky, she'd stepped down to the kitchen to retrieve some goodies for us. My stomach rumbled at the prospect.

I leapt to the chair and let my cat curiosity get the better of me while I waited. Picking up her sketchbook, I flipped through the pages and was floored by the designs she'd been sketching for our friends. Besides her own and mine, I wasn't sure how many of the other costumes she would be making or if these were ideas she was passing on; regardless, they were stunning. I especially liked the extreme athlete look I presumed was for Alix.

The last few pages had thoughts of what her version of Chat Noir was going to look like. I raised a masked eyebrow – no question, this girl had talent. I was about to flip to the ideas on my costume when I heard steps on the staircase to the skylight; quickly, I put the book back and leapt to a position in front of the portal, and plastered my best wasn't-doing-anything-here look on my face.

Marinette appeared from the skylight, breathing a bit hard, and eyed me suspiciously. "Chat," she said, "what have you been up to? You look like you just ate the canary."

"Me?" I said innocently, aware that was the second time I'd heard that particular phrase. I held a paw up to my heart. "Absolutely nothing. I've been patiently waiting here for my close up."

Her eyes flicked to the sketchbook, which I'd failed to replace exactly as she had left it. I may have even put it back upside down in my hurry. "Right," she said, coming out of the skylight and (bless me) carrying a tray of Belgian Chocolate croissants. "Hold these," she commanded as we moved back toward her chair.

Without comment, she flipped up the sketchbook and opened it to a blank page at the end. "Obviously, I need to figure out how to make a costume that I can get in and out of," she started as she stood up and began to circle me. Tapping her pencil on her lip, she paused and lifted one of my arms. "Wow," she said. "There are no seams, are there?"

"No…?" I said unhelpfully.

She pulled back. "How did you come up with this design?"

I was taken by her question. It wasn't who designed your costume, making me wonder if I'd ever delved into the whole transformation process with her during one of my quasi-regular visits. "I'm not sure I can explain it," I started. "I just visualized my idea of what a cat-themed superhero would look like. I have a bit of a sense of fashion-"

That was an understatement, of course, given who my father was.

"—and I'm pretty sure that fed into what I created. Most importantly," I said confidentially, "it had to look cool."

Marinette laughed. "But the bell? Really?"

"Creative license," I smiled. "But as I told you last night, the ears are functional. And the tail is too, though I can't explain how either works." I paused. "I spoke to Ladybug tonight, by the way."

Marinette was busily poking at various parts of my costume, getting a sense of where seams mighthave to be in something that had to be sewn. "Mmm hmm," she said.

"She's agreed to swing by and let you examine her costume."

"Great," she said, still enraptured by my costume. "What is this made out of, exactly? I'd assumed it was leather."

"Magic," I shrugged. "Leather is likely the closest analogue."

"Okay," she said, taking the platter from me. "Is it one piece or a jacket and trouser combo?"

I smiled. "One piece," I answered. "But I can't actually take it off, so to be honest, it probably could be a top and bottom." I pointed to the belt. "You could use this to hide the connection point if you needed to."

Her eyes widened. "That's a clever thought, Chat," she said, scratching something into her book. She lifted an arm and examined my paws. "These aren't gloves, either."

"No," I said.

She leaned close to examine the palm of one paw. "I could hide a seam here," she murmured. "I can see the lines on your palm," she added and looked up at me. "It really is like a second skin for you, isn't it?"

"I guess," I replied. I'd never really given it much thought. The costume just… was.

"Okay." Marinette flipped to a new page. "Time to get more personal," she said gleefully as she retrieved her tape measure.

I couldn't hide the flush that crept up my face.

**Marinette**

When Chat had asked me to go and model my Ladybug suit for myself, I had to fight the temptation to tell him no, just to see his reaction, but I didn't want him getting suspicious when the outfit came out too perfectly.

Since he had decided against the padding in the suit, it was going to be obvious that he was not the true Ladybug, but the measurements that I was taking tonight served a double purpose. While I would never be able to replicate the correct height, I planned to pad the Chat suit that I was making myself, as well as to bind my chest down, making myself as close to Chat's build as I could.

Whipping out my tape measure, I started with the traditional measurements: Chest, waist, and hip circumference, as well as arm and leg length. Then I went into some of the measurements for my costume: bicep circumference, distance between and height of ears, tail length, and claw length. I was deep in thought, and not really paying much attention to the boy before me, more marveling at the texture of his suit. I probably should not have leaned closer and started studying the pockets at his waist up close while I was on my knees measuring his thigh circumference. He made a choking sound and jerked back, and only then did I realize that I'd had one hand uncomfortably high on his thigh, the other palm flat on his hipbone, and my face mere inches from his belly button. My face flamed as red as his already was, and I managed to squeak out, "Sorry! Distracted! Pockets!" Before scurrying over to the other chair, clutching my sketchbook, furiously writing down measurements and sketching in the location of the pockets until both of our discomfort had a chance to subside.

Clearing his throat, Chat asked nervously, "Are you done measuring, Marinette?"

When I answered that I was, I could hear his sigh of relief, and see him relax. I'd been checking fabric prices all week, and quoted him a price, primarily to cover the cost of the spandex and wig that I would be getting for him. I questioned him a little further about his boots and his bell, they were rather less streamlined than Ladybug's costume, and I wondered aloud how I would hide them.

We talked as we ate (I nibbled, he scarfed) the croissants. We discussed different ideas, different ways to hide the boots, bell and ears. "The ears shouldn't be too much trouble." I argued. "I'll just fluff up your Ladybug wig a bit, and only the tips will show. You've already said you're not going for an accurate representation."

A week later, Chat returned to try on his costume. I refused to show him mine until the day of the ball, even though he had asked me 6 times in the half hour he'd been there, but I'd hidden it somewhere he'd never find it.

I'd put a zipper down the front of the costume, for lack of any better way to get it on and off. I'd put a large black spot directly over where his bell was, in hopes of at least somewhat disguising it. It didn't. I tugged and fiddled with the stretchy material, but his bell and the outline of both his boots and gloves were still clearly visible through the heavy spandex costume. I'm managed to hide his tail by tucking it down one leg, underneath a seam. He said it wasn't comfortable, but not painful, either, just distracting every time it tried to move, but something that he would get used to.

It was then that he made the suggestion that made my blood freeze. Casually, like he wasn't flirting with danger, he offered, "Well, I could just put the Ladybug costume on over my suit, make sure the mask is firmly in place, and then detransform. I'll still have a mask on, it'll be fine."

I pinned him with the best Ladybug glare I could muster as Marinette. It must have been close, because Chat's ears drooped and his shrank back in his chair. "It was just a suggestion" he muttered.

"Let's consider that Plan Z," I told him. "As in Zero chance I'm letting you do that. Maybe I can alter the costume to give you red gloves and boots, so the bulges won't look so odd." I sighed. "But that bell, though…"

Over the next several weeks, I finished off my costume, and helped my friends find pieces for theirs. I made a couple of custom masks, one for Alya and one for Nino. I was upset, but unsurprised, that Adrien's father wasn't letting him come. Apparently he was afraid that even in a mask, his fans would recognize him and chase him, which would upset the dignity of the Agreste name.

The week before the ball, Chat came to collect his costume. We'd found no better way to disguise the bell, and I'd made slip on red gloves and boots with which he could cover the boots and gloves he wore under the Ladybug costume. At his request, I had not attached them to the costume itself, but made them snug enough that they wouldn't shift, no matter how much he moved around. He'd demonstrated by showing me some rather energetic dance moves that I was terrified he would try at the ball. I'd given him a small container of glue to keep his boots gloves and mask in place, and told him he could use it on his tail, too, if it became bothersome.

The afternoon of the ball, the girls gathered at my house, and there was an expectant hum in the air, coming, even from Alix, as we all started putting on our costumes. Rose and Juleka were both fairies, Rose wearing lots of pale pink with tulle and sparkles, while Juleka was in her traditional purple and black, a more gothic looking fairy with ripped wings. Both had masks that matched their costumes.

Alix was dressed as an extreme athlete, a rollerblader, not terribly different from her standard outfit, but with a pair of mirrored wraparound sunglasses in lieu of a mask.

Mylene was wearing a beautiful ballgown, and was dressed masquerading as an opera singer, Ivan would be wearing a half mask and dressed as the Phantom. I was so glad that they had gone for my suggestion after we had studied Gaston Leroux in French Literature.

Alya was dressed in a renaissance gown, with a lace mask tied around her face, one that her glasses could easily slip over. She was excited for the ball, but conceded that seeing was an important part of the experience.

Once everyone was dressed, and Juleka and Rose were starting to do everyone's makeup, I slipped into the bathroom to change into my costume. The only makeup I wore was shimmery blue eyeshadow, completely surrounding my eyes, so that everything seen through the mask would be blue. As I couldn't change my eye color, I wanted the effect to be the same as Chat's colored sclera.

I slipped into the padded leather pants, enjoying the way the foam padding bulked up my legs, making them look more muscular, and pulled on boots that almost matched the ones that had been giving me fits for the past several weeks. I bound my chest in bandages, so my feminine shape wouldn't be too apparent, and slipped on the leather jacket that I had put together, zipping it up with the bell. I tucked my hair up under the wildly styled blonde wig, to which I had attached leather cat ears, and buckled the leather belt that I had stiffened with wire, so it swung out behind me. Finally I pulled on my black gloves tipped with plastic claws. I checked everything in the mirror one last time, before I made my grand entrance in front of my friends.

For a few seconds, everything was silent and still… then everyone started talking at once.

"Mari, that is amazing!"

"You look just like him"

"What happened to your boobs?"

"I can't believe you made that"

"How did you get all the detail?"

I explained to them that Chat Noir had come over and let me examine his costume in return for making his. No matter how much my friends begged, I told them I'd made a promise to him and would not divulge Chat's costume. Once all of us were ready, we headed downstairs, where my parents took a bunch of pictures, and we headed out to the hotel.

**Chat Noir**

Once Marinette had given me the costume, I took it back home to try it on. I wanted so badly to wear it as Adrien. I had given her permission to tell people that I was coming, but not to reveal my costume, so even if people saw who was dressed as Ladybug, the only person who would know was Marinette. And I trusted Marinette. More importantly, I trusted her not to tell Ladybug IF I screwed everything up. When I asked, alright begged, Ladybug to come, she told me that Ladybug would not be making an appearance. When I asked if she would be there as her civilian self, she just smiled and changed the subject.

All four times.

I'd tried the costume on at Marinette's, and it fit well over my Chat suit, but now I wanted to try it on as Adrien. I stripped off my t-shirt and jeans and stepped into the costume. Marinette had done an excellent job, as I'd known she would, and the zipper was barely visible. I thought that my suit was revealing, but Ladybug's was a step beyond. I wasn't sure what I was going to be able to wear under the costume that wouldn't show through, but at least I had a little room, because she'd made it to go over my costume.

Plagg flew over and cackled at me. When I asked him what was so funny, he just kept repeating "Wait until Ladybug sees you!" and "This is almost better than cheese."

The day of the ball arrived, and I'd spent the week debating back and forth whether I should go as Chat or Adrien, but Marinette's handiwork was shown off much better when I was Adrien. I had purchased a cat-ear headband to wear under the wig, and the ears slipped perfectly through the ear holes that Marinette had cut in it. That girl thought of everything. I doubted I could fool her, but I was fairly certain I would fool everyone else. She'd even made me a pair of salt dough earrings and shown me how to apply the costume glue to keep them on.

I made my final decision about five seconds before I changed. I was going as Adrien. Well, Adrien dressed as Chat dressed as Ladybug. What could go wrong? I found out the instant I entered the ballroom and locked eyes with Marinette. She knew I wasn't Chat under the costume, and I knew that her costume put mine to shame. I don't know how she'd done it, but now I knew why she'd taken so many measurements. She looked exactly like me, only shorter, and with blue eyes. And those eyes flew wide with shock, and then tight with anger.

**Marinette**

Fortunately, I wasn't far from the double-doors leading into the ballroom when Chat made his entrance. I happened to be facing in that direction, holding a drink while chatting with Alya, when his eyes met mine. Decidedly human eyes.

What the…?

It was Chat, but it wasn't. With barely contained fury, I realized he'd ignored my rather forceful insistence on him staying in character while wearing the Ladybug costume; instead, he'd clearly come as his civilian alter-ego, albeit with just enough hints that it might be Chat Noir beneath the polka dots for anyone that hadn't spent as many hours in his presence as I had.

I tried to keep the quirk of a smile off my face, though. The cat-ear headband had been a clever idea and looked adorable peeking out from the Ladybug wig. And it was hard not to take in every single… ripple… of muscle that was exposed by the tight-fitting costume. I'd intended for it to be form fitting, with some stretch of course, but that was supposed to be due to it having to be atop his Chat costume. It wasn't until that moment that I realized that Chat was all muscle - in nearly classical proportions, too. The spandex had conformed accordingly, and I could sense it was drawing the attention of the room.

Quickly.

My look had pinned him at the entrance as if he were a cat caught by the headlights of an onrushing vehicle - which was an accurate representation of how fast I moved across the room to him. He shrank back against the doorframe, and if he'd had his normal cat ears, they would have been flattened against his blond mane.

I grabbed him by a polka-dot covered arm and maneuvered him out the ball room doors and into the lobby, and keeping my voice low as I propelled him toward the restrooms I fairly hissed. "You're going in there and transforming this instant, Chat,"

"Marinette—" he started.

"No arguments, Kitty," I said in my best Ladybug tone. "This is serious. You're—"

"Adrien?"

Both of our heads swung to the left, where Chloe was coming down the grand staircase from the mezzanine above. Unsurprisingly, she'd used the Ball as an excuse to trot out her own version of my Ladybug costume, which actually wasn't all that bad. More concerning was what she thought she had seen, and it dawned on me that Chat had answered to the name she had called.

I snapped my head back in his direction, and caught the blush creeping up his face.

"Uh, hey, Chloe," he said, arm automatically reaching back to scratch his neck.

Oh. My. God.

Chloe arrived by me and I tried to stay calm. "I thought you couldn't come?" she asked Chat. "And what kind of a costume is that, anyway?" she added, eyes going from the cat ears to the salt dough earrings he'd glued on.

"It was a last-minute thing," he said, face turning a deep, deep red as his eyes darted from Chloe to me. "I, uh, I'm sort of a double costume," he said. "I'm Chat Noir dressed as Ladybug."

Chloe stared at him. "You, ah, would need more Chat under that costume to pull it off, Adrikins," she laughed. "Nice try though."

She cackled all the way to the ballroom, and I leveled my steely glare on Chat, watching my partner visibly wilt. I grabbed him again and hustled him to a slightly secluded spot behind some potted ferns. I was hot and I lit into him. "You'd better have a good explanation for why you've risked nearly revealing your secret identity, Chat! I can't believe it! How many times have I told you how important it is for us to protect our—"

Something in his shocked expression stopped me cold, mid-sentence.

**Chat Noir**

There was no question I'd blown it, big time. And Marinette had every right to be angry with me. But as I stood there behind the potted fern, enduring her rather withering critique of my actions, she'd accidentally said more than she should have in the heat of the moment.

And all the puzzle pieces suddenly fit.

She saw something in my expression and froze, realization dawning on her face.

"Milady…?" was all I could think to say. Despite everything, a goofy Chat-grin threatened to appear.

Marinette looked over my head, and placed one of her cat paws on her forehead. I could almost see the throbbing of her oncoming headache.

"Merde," she breathed. "What do we do now…?"


	12. Post Reveal

_Twelve: Post Reveal_

_Author's Note: Epcot97 here. After the mess we created with Chapter Eleven as part of #MariChatMay2019, ChubbyUnicornMama and I have been instructed by a furious Marinette to repair the damage (except Chat doesn't seem to mind all that much). This is part two, written to placate our furious Miraculous holders (well, holder). If you missed the Ball, please read the last chapter. I swear, you were invited. _

_Official Summary: Holy poop! What just happened? How do we deal with this?_

_And now, some actual behind-the-scenes moments between ChubbyUnicornMama and Epcot97 as we worked on these two stories:_

_CM: OK, let's try to keep the two parts UNDER 10k words total._

_Ep: That's just a guideline, right? I mean, we're already over 4k words now, and they haven't even left for the Ball yet..._

_CM: *bangs head on desk*_

**Marinette**

"Merde," I breathed. "What do we do now…?"

I could NOT believe that not only had Chat given away his identity, but he'd made me so mad that I'd given away mine. Pointing a finger in his face, I ordered him to stay. I HAD to walk away to calm down. The last thing we needed was for one of us to get akumatized because my partner had absolutely no sense of self preservation. He was practically beaming, for goodness sake!

I walked until I could get my emotions under control, and then headed back to where I'd left Chat. He hadn't moved a muscle. Nope. None of those gorgeous muscles that Adrien was showing off under the skin tight spandex. Focus Marinette. Annoyed all over again that I'd let myself get distracted, I was harsher than I meant to be when I said, "Alright Kitty. We need to go talk about this. Let's go to the Arc du Triomphe. If we can get up there without being spotted, nobody will ever know we're there."

I dragged him back over to the restroom and shoved him inside. Locking the door behind us I looked at Chat. "Transform" I ordered him, not even taking a breath before I said, "Tikki, spots on!" When my transformation was complete, I looked over at him, and he was in the exact same position as he was when I told him to transform. I pulled out my yoyo, and still he stood there, so I did the first thing I could think of… drop it on his head.

"Ouch!" He said, rubbing his head, but it seemed to snap him out of his daze.

"You need transform. Ladybug and Chat Noir went into this restroom. Ladybug and Chat Noir need to leave it… not two Ladybugs." I told him.

Transforming, he said, "Alright, Milady, I'm ready to go."

I looked at Chat with a whole new appreciation for exactly what was hiding under the costume. I was doing my best to ignore the muscles, and to ignore the fact that this was Adrien, mostly so that I could remain a functioning human being. We exited the restroom, one Chat Noir and one Ladybug, slightly different than the ones that went in, but nobody had been paying that much attention. We were walking towards the hotel exit, when I heard Chloe screech, "What do you mean the Chat Noir talking to my Adrikins was Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" With a glance at my partner, we stepped outside at a slightly faster pace, switching to the rooftops as soon as we'd crossed the street.

I lead the way to the Arc as we silently crossed the city. I was no longer angry, not really, but trying really hard not to think too much. I mean, this was Adrien Agreste, the boy I'd been crushing on since almost the first day I'd met him, but also my goofy partner that I'd been turning down for almost as long. I couldn't believe I had been this close to Chat Noir this whole time. What if he no longer wanted to be my partner now that he knew that I was just Marinette? I mean, sure, we were friends, but Chat had always wanted more from Ladybug, never from Marinette. So not thinking too much wasn't going so well.

We arrived at the Arc du Triomphe and sat amongst the horses. I took a deep, steadying breath. "So. You're Adrien." And that was when my brain stopped working.

**Chat Noir**

I thought it best not to engage in my normal dialogue with Ladybug – well, Marinette – as we worked our way through the city toward the massive Arc. And to be honest, I wasn't one-hundred-percent sure what to say to her. In the space of about ten minutes, we'd both suddenly merged our two personas into one at the same time. I knew my mind was struggling to keep up with the very concept that the two women I loved were actually one and the same. I had a sense that Marinette, who I'd long known had been crushing on Adrien-me, was dealing with discovering I'd been working side-by-side with her nightly while sitting quietly in front of her in class daily.

Dropping down next to her atop the Arc, I found myself gawking at her costume. Having recently stuffed myself into it's doppelgänger, and knowing how it had hugged every inch of my body, I found my eyes now tracing how it embraced the curves on my partner's body. How had I never noticed that? It left nothing to the imagination.

Dear God, I thought. What assets had I been showing off?!

"So," Ladybug said as I settled in against one horse, and she put her back up against another. "You're Adrien."

I dragged my attention back to her masked eyes. "Yes," I said. "Would it help if I de-transformed?"

"No!" she said hastily. "I think I've seen enough of you in spandex tonight."

I wasn't sure exactly what she meant with that statement and decided to let it pass. "And you're Ladybug," I countered.

"Yeah," she said. "What were you wearing under the costume?"

I could feel my cheeks inflaming. In the safety of my bedroom at the mansion, it had seemed like a solid idea to be… uh… minimalist, as it were.

"Not enough, apparently," I joked, remembering in that moment that my Chat costume was essentially a second skin, replacing my civilian attire entirely, thoroughly and… completely.

No wonder she keeps staring at me.

"No," she said, looking at me again with an intensity that deepened my blush.

"Look," I said, "this is entirely my fault. You'd done such an outstanding job with my costume, it felt wrong wearing it over my normal attire. The way I saw it, I had to go as Adrien to show off your handiwork."

"You're actually going to play the altruism card, Chat? Seriously?"

I smirked. "Maybe a tiny part of me also hoped you'd figure out who was under the mask, too." I held up a paw with two claws a short distance apart. "This small, in fact."

That brought a welcome smile to my partner's face. "That is the Chat I know and love."

My heart skipped a beat. "Do you?" I asked, trying not to look desperate. "Do you really love me?"

"That was a foolish gambit," she said, avoiding the question. "People we know were in that room, not to mention the fact that your Father had strictly forbidden you from going."

"Clearly I can leave the mansion when I want," I pointed out. "Otherwise, I'd have some trouble being your partner."

"We have an obligation," she said. "A serious one. And it requires us to act responsibly."

"Milady, you didn't discourage me from attending the Ball as Chat."

That caught her. "You were supposed to be in costume, Chat."

I scooched across the marble and snuggled into her. "Admit it! You wanted me to be there as much as I wanted to be there with you."

"Chat!" she said, trying to avoid me. "Stop—"

I wrapped an arm around her waist, and put my best expectant expression on my face. "You didn't answer the question, Marinette," I reminded her.

Ladybug sighed. "Which question was that?" she asked, clearly stalling for time.

"Do you love me? Not Chat, not Adrien, but me?"

**Marinette**

Did I love him? There was only one way to answer that question, and that was as Marinette. As Ladybug, it didn't feel as authentic, and it was as Marinette that I had fallen in love with both sides of him. Taking a deep breath, I detransformed, and reached for his hands, holding them in mine.

"When I first met Adrien, I didn't like him. He was another snobby brat like his best friend Chloe. Then you talked to me, apologizing for something you didn't do, and lent me your umbrella. I saw the kind boy that put others' feelings before his own. That was when I fell in love with Adrien."

I held up my hand, knowing he was about to interrupt. "Please let me finish. When I met Chat Noir, I was in awe. Here was a boy who never doubted himself, never doubted that he was meant to be a superhero. He took on evil with a smile and a joke, frequently throwing his body around to try to protect me, and Paris. It took a little longer for me to fall in love with him, because he never showed me his serious side. At least I never realized he was serious. I'd always loved him, but now I was in love with him, too. It was scary to love him, and dangerous, too, if anyone ever learned that we were in love with each other, Hawkmoth could use that against us."

"Chat, Adrien. Yes. I love Adrien's quiet kindness, and Chat's recklessness. I love YOU, all of you. I know you love Ladybug, but would you ever consider loving Marinette as well?"

Looking at the ground, I held my breath, afraid of what he might say.

"It's true. I've made no secret that I love Ladybug. But I've also made no secret that I loved the girl behind the mask, as well. I've been getting closer to you as Adrien, but never as close as I wanted, and you were always willing to let Chat Noir in, so I visited you that way. I don't have to consider loving Marinette. I already do."

He pulled me close to him and clasped my hand tightly. Looking down at me, he said, "With your permission?" I nodded, and he leaned down towards me. I leaned up to meet him halfway, my eyes fluttering shut as our lips met. Our first kiss. At least the first that we both remembered. Wow. It was definitely worth the wait.

When we broke apart, I snuggled into his chest, holding him tightly. He rested his cheek on the top of my head, and we clung to each other.

Eventually, I pulled back, and asked him, "Would you like to go to the ball with me? I put a lot of work into our costumes, and I want to show mine off." I added softly, burying my face in his shoulder so he couldn't see my blush, "Besides, you look amazing in spandex."

I felt his chuckle against my cheek. "Whatever you want, Princess. I'm pretty sure I swallowed my tongue when I saw your costume…. in the five seconds before you looked like you wanted to kill me. Of course, that was pretty hot as well. Terrifying, but hot."

Now I was laughing, too. "Come on Kitty. Let's get back. I know my friends will miss me if I'm gone too long, and if what I heard Chloe saying as we left is any indication… she'll be looking for you, too."

"Ah… about that," he said. "I have an idea on how to handle her andkeep our little secret." He winked one of his masked green eyes at me.

"Am I going to like this?" I asked, seeing the grin forming on his face.

He leaned down and kissed me. "Probably not. But I'll let you oogle me in spandex one more time."

The blush crept up my face again. "I wasn't oog—"

"Plagg – claws in!" he said suddenly, and one green-transformation-wave later, I was oogling my partner in that form fitting costume.

"Shut up and kiss me," he said.

**Chat Noir**

We dropped into the service alley behind the hotel and snuck in through the staff entrance; it took just a moment for us to find a supply closet that locked from the inside. Ladybug guarded the entrance while I ducked behind a row of toilet paper boxes and dropped my transformation. "No peeking," I said as I carefully shed my Ladybug costume, wig and ears, and prepared to re-transform to Chat Noir.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ladybug said. That was followed a beat later by: "Nice buns."

"Hey!" I cried, the decided in the interests of modesty to speed things along. "Plagg – claws out!"

A few minutes later, we entered the main lobby the way Marinette had originally envisioned us. I had a polka-dotted-covered mitt in her faux paw, and we paused just outside the double doors to the ballroom. "Milady," I said, as I leaned down to kiss her.

Now that I'd had time to see her in her outfit properly, I was amazed all over again at the talent my partner had. And I had to say, while the blonde wig wasn't really her, the deep blue mascara combined with those cute cat ears were really something.

I was mid-kiss when I heard footsteps; my feline ear pivoted toward the sound (a movement that was a bit more restricted than I'd realized through the little holes Marinette had cut in the wig for me).

"Hey!" Alya was saying as she rushed over to us. "You didn't answer your phone! Where have you been—" she started, only then realizing who was kissing Marinette, her mouth opened in a shocked O. "…Chat Noir?"

"In the fur," I replied, bowing deeply to my friend. "What do you think?" I asked, turning to give her the full effect of the Ladybug costume.

She was speechless and reaching for her phone preparatory for enshrining her scoop on the Ladyblog, which I assumed was a good sign.

I turned toward Marinette. "I believe I owe you a—"

"Adrikins!" The cry came from the ballroom, and moment later, Chloe emerged, fire in her eyes. "Where have you…" she trailed off, looking at me closely with a confused expression.

"Mademoiselle," I said pleasantly, my masked green eyes narrowing in good humor. "I think you might be confusing me with someone else."

"Didn't I talk to you earlier?" she asked, puzzled.

"I don't believe so," I said. "I've only just arrived," I added, winking at Marinette. It was mostly true – I'd not come as Chat Noir earlier.

"But…" Chloe turned to Marinette. "I saw you talking to Adrien…?"

Marinette went in for the kill. "I don't think so," she said sweetly. "My date was always Chat." She paused for a beat. "Well, Chat-as-Ladybug, technically. And I'm pretty sure Adrien was barred from coming, anyway."

"But… I knowI saw you out here, Dupain-Cheng! Talking to my Adrikins!"

I looked at Marinette. "Is Queenie always this high-strung?"

"You've no idea," Alya chuckled. "You two go on in, I'll see if I can't get Chloe calmed down," she said as she maneuvered a spluttering Chloe toward the private elevators.

I held my paw out to Marinette. "Princess, about that dance I owe you?"

"Of course, Chat," Marinette said, taking my paw.

I wrapped my other arm around her waist and entered the ballroom, whispering to her as we parted the crowd and headed for the dance floor. "We've done this dance for a long time, now, haven't we bugaboo?"

"Yes, kitty." She was smiling, a joyous expression that led to a matching grin on my masked face. "And I finally feel like I know all the steps."

_Additional Author's Note: We did it! We came in around 8k words for the two chapters! Go us. Good thing there wasn't an akuma. Oh wait… Villains is tomorrow._


	13. Villains

_Thirteen: Villains_

_Author's Note: ChubbyUnicornMama and Epcot97 are tag teaming #MariChatMay2019; this chapter - for May 13 – is the third of several that we've written together, so you can spread the blame equally this time out. Actually, maybe more blame goes to CM on this one, since she's the one that came up with Marinette's rather unthinkable actions, leaving Chat unable to understand how she could have betrayed him. –epcot97_

_It's true. I'm pretty evil. - CM_

**Chat Noir**

I cannot believe that Marinette would betray me like this. She has been one of my best friends, both in and out the suit for close to 10 years. Of all the people I know, she is the last one that I thought would intentionally hurt me. I'm not even angry. My heart is too broken to be angry. I'm sitting here on the Eiffel Tower, curled up, sobbing out every last drop of water in my body. I called Ladybug, and left her a message. I don't know if or when she'll get it, but I need someone to talk to, and I can't turn to that traitor Marinette anymore.

**One hour earlier**

When Marinette had moved out of her parents' bakery a few months ago, she had spent weeks talking about getting a pet. I had been pressing her to get a kitten (or 5) so that I could come over and play with them. Most kittens loved me, and I loved them. They were just so soft and loveable and cute! Marinette, however, was leaning towards getting a hamster. Much smaller, and easier to take care of. "They don't destroy the furniture," she'd said, giving me a pointed look. Yeesh. You accidentally get your claws caught in the couch ONE time. OK, three times.

I was going to go over and surprise her. I knew she was working late. On top of her first year internship at Kenzo, she was designing our friend Mylene's wedding dress, and today was the final fitting. Their wedding was this weekend, the first of our lycee class to get married. Chat would not be going, but as Adrien, I had been invited. Which is why I was making this trip over to Marinette's tonight to make sure that she ate.

I entered the apartment, through the window that she left unlatched just for me. She no longer had that beautiful balcony, but there was a railing and a window box that I could perch on and open the window. I lowered myself in through her window as usual, carrying my bag of takeout. Everything seemed normal as I dropped the bag on her kitchen table, and that's when I realized that HE was in the apartment with me.

My instincts that told me I was not alone was the hair on the back of my neck standing up, as I felt his eyes watching me. I turned and saw him through the open bedroom door, stretched out on the bed as if he owned the place. He lazily sat up, slid off the bed, and had started padding slowly towards me before my brain understood what I was seeing. Marinette had betrayed me. I'm not terribly proud of what happened next, but I just knew that I couldn't stay in her apartment any more. His blue eyes watched me as I turned tail and ran for the window, throwing myself out of it and making a blind dash away. Anywhere away. It was sometime during my headlong flight that the tears started coming. A while after that, but before I ended up at the Eiffel Tower, I called Ladybug and told her that I needed her. I knew she would come. She just had to get the message first.

**Marinette**

I arrived home after Mylene's final wedding dress fitting having dropped off her dress. She was going to be a beautiful bride.

I entered my apartment, and immediately noticed that something was off. The living room window, the one that Chat usually used to come and go was wide open, and Laban, Mylene and Ivan's husky, was sitting in the middle of my kitchen, a container of takeout pasta spread across my kitchen floor, and red sauce covering his white fur.

Several weeks ago, I had agreed to dog sit for them while they were on their honeymoon, and Ivan had been by last night to drop him off. Less than 24 hours and I'd already blown it! His blue eyes looked up at me expectantly, proud of himself for having got his own dinner off the kitchen table, but where had the pasta come from? Suddenly I realized that I hadn't had the chance to warn Chat that I was going to be dog sitting for the next two weeks, and I knew what must have happened.

Looking at Tikki, and realizing that she had come to the same conclusion, I called for my transformation. Seeing that I had a missed call on my yo-yo, and knowing it could have only come from one person, I listened to a hysterical jumble of words, the only thing I could make out was my name… Marinette. Activating my locator, I swung out towards the Eiffel Tower to figure out some way to calm my partner down.

**Chat Noir**

Not even the sound of the yo-yo could roust me from my despondent mood. I'd hidden myself in the girders just below Eiffel's office, as high as I thought I could safely go and still remain out of sight of the tourists. I was curled into a tight cat ball, and had wrapped my tail around my paws. Even the wind seemed to be against me; it was gusting hard enough that I'd had to flatten my ears to keep them from feeling like they were going to be ripped off my blond mane.

Ladybug tapped me gently on the shoulder that was exposed. The soft expression of kindness sent me into another spasm of tears. Where the emotions were coming from, I had no idea. But they were there and hard to ignore. I felt her settle in on the beam, folding herself in close to me, patiently waiting for my personal storm to pass.

"Chat?" she said once I'd been reduced to sniffling, "Tell me."

"I thought I knew her," I said. "I thought we were in love..." I twisted my head slightly, catching her blue eyes with one of my masked green ones. "I didn't think she was serious about the hamster. But maybe I hadn't been paying enough attention to her."

I pulled myself up and into a sitting position, boots nonchalantly hanging out into open space, and waved my paws as I explained. "Maybe she didn't know," I said. "I thought I'd been pretty obvious; I spend almost all of my free time with her, and even helped her move into that new apartment." I unceremoniously wiped my running nose with the back of my paw, oblivious to the movement. "I even brought dinner tonight to make sure she'd had something solid before the wedding."

I looked up at Ladybug. "She's been working so hard on that dress," I explained. "I've been there every night this week, watching herself work her fingers to the bone; she's been dozing off at her sewing table, you know? So I've been tucking her into her bed each night and then ensuring breakfast is being delivered to her each morning." I looked away. "It's the kind of woman she is," I sighed, "one of many reasons why I love her."

Ladybug just nodded, her face neutral. "What happened?"

I turned back to Ladybug, and could feel the tears welling up again. "I dropped by with dinner, like I said – Lasagna, her favorite – and I discovered… she… she… she got a dog!" I choked out.

I curled back up. "She replaced… replaced me with a dog!"

**Ladybug**

This was an unexpected side of Chat; I was floored by what I was hearing.

Sure, he'd been hanging around a lot. And I'd definitely gotten used to his presence; it was so comfortable having him around, in fact, that I hadn't paid attention to any of what I now realized had been less-than-subtle signals from my partner. What startled me more was that, on reflection, I knew I felt the same about him.

After all of our time together as Ladybug and Chat, and all of Chat's original attempts to craft a relationship with Ladybug, Marinette had actually fallen for the kitty. And it appeared Chat had fallen, hard, for my alter-ego.

If he didn't look like I had ripped out his heart and torn it into tiny little pieces, the entire situation would have been comical. As he continued to sob softly into his paws, I realized telling him the actual reason there was a dog in my apartment would solve the whole problem, but on the other hand, I'd no idea his sense of self-worth was so fragile. He was also so self-assured when he was out there fighting with me side-by-side; it reminded me yet again that my partner was a complex personality that I'd barely scratched the surface of, even after ten years of friendship.

What on Earth do I do? I thought.

The only thing that came to mind was sliding around him and placing his wild blond head on my thigh; I gently stroked his hair and desperately tried to think of something to say.

It came to me in a bolt of inspiration, and I smiled a bit at my creativity. "Chat," I said softly after first leaning down and gently kissing a spot on his head that was just about equidistant between his feline ears. I'd momentarily lost my train of thought, though. Those ears had always made him so endearing to me, especially when he used them to express one of his generally exuberant emotions. "Have you actually told this… what is her name again?"

"Marinette," he sobbed.

"Marinette, right," I nodded, not that he could see me. "Have you actually told her how you feel? If she doesn't know, she can't be blamed for any actions she's taken while she was in the dark." I thought a bit more. "She's not an akumatized villain – and I have a hard time believing she would hurt you so drastically intentionally."

He twisted his head around, two masked and rather swollen green eyes trained on me, intensely. "Tell her? Like, to her face?"

"Yes, kitty. That's generally how it's done." I paused, cocking my head like he often did. "Although some people do it over the phone these days…"

That brought something of a Chat smile. "Not my style," he said, sniffing. "But I have no idea what I'd say. Other than 'Hey, Marinette. It's either me or the dog.'"

I laughed. "I think this is a big misunderstanding." I said sagely, knowing it was. "Go talk to her."

"All right," he said, sitting up again and leaning into a hug. "Thanks, LB. You're always there for me."

"Don't you forget it," I said, bopping him on his masked nose.

He started to go, having pulled out his baton, and then paused, looking back at me intently. "Look, would you mind coming along?"

"What?!" I said. "Chat – I don't think—"

"I'll speak to her myself," he said, seeing the panic in my eyes but misinterpreting the reason behind it. "But if you can hang around close by, like on the roof or something, I might need to have a shoulder to cry on later." He looked torn emotionally. "If it goes badly."

How could I say no? And how the heck could I make that work? "Of course, Chat," I said, smiling as best as I could. "Give me 5 minutes to hide out of her line of sight. I'm going to detransform and feed my kwami. I did head out in a bit of a rush. Wait right here. Practice what you want to say. I'll be here for you." I put my hand on his shoulder and met his red rimmed eyes before pulling him in for a hug.

I didn't let go until he did, and then I turned and swung across the rooftops, hoping that I would be able to detransform and make it back to my appointment before Chat Noir did.

**Chat Noir**

Ladybug was right. I needed to talk to Marinette. She needed to know that I couldn't be replaced by a dog. I wanted to tell her that I loved her, but she'd never shown any sign of loving me back. We spent most of our time doing friends stuff. Curled up on the couch together watching movies, talking about anything and everything. While we were both in school, we'd spend time together just doing our homework (I was careful to stick to the homework for general classes in front of her). I'd often fallen asleep at her place, curled up next to her in her bed as we'd watched a late night movie, or just sitting and talking.

When we were teens, I'd been crazy about Ladybug, but she'd always wanted to keep things strictly professional between us. As I got to know more about Marinette, I visited her more and more, and slowly, she took the place of Ladybug in my heart. She'd never shown me more than friendship, and I hadn't pushed, but spending time with her both in and out of the mask, she seemed at ease with me as Chat that she had never been as Adrien.

As I was thinking about all this, and watching the window, I saw Marinette arrive home. She turned on the light, and I could see her kitchen coated in the remains of the lasagna I had brought over. It was with a small measure of satisfaction that I noted that the Siberian Husky was no longer pure white, but covered in red pasta sauce. I saw her say something to my canine competition but was too far away for even my feline ears to hear. She grabbed the cleaning supplies and started to clean up the mess.

Deciding it was now or never, I leaped over to her window, knocked, then let myself in. Shooting the dog a dirty look, I cleared my throat. "So… who's this?"

It must have come out more defensive than I meant it to, because she looked up at me with tears shimmering in her eyes. "Oh Chat. Did you bring me dinner? I am so sorry I wasn't here. I stopped to talk after dropping off Mylene's dress, and hiding it from Ivan. I forgot to mention to you that I promised to dog sit Laban for them while they were on their honeymoon. They were in a pinch, and didn't know who else to ask. I hope he wasn't too badly behaved" She gestured around her kitchen. "Except for the part where he redecorated my kitchen." When she smiled up at me, the pieces of my shattered heart started to put themselves back together again.

"Excuse me a minute, I just have to take care of something." I said to her, pulling out my baton to text Ladybug that all would be OK. She wasn't back online yet, but I knew her kwami was a slow eater, unlike Plagg.

Smiling, I turned back to Marinette, but she was closer that I expected her to be. Sliding her arms around my waist, she slid her hands up to my shoulders, pulling me into a hug. "Oh Kitty." She said softly into my chest. "Please don't think that I would ever, could ever, try to replace you. You mean the world to me." She reached up and cupped my cheek. "Please don't be sad. Talk to me."

I ignored her plea to talk, instead, lowering my head and capturing her lips with mine. She let out a startled gasp but, after a few moments of surprise, was kissing me back. We would have stayed there all night, but Laban chose that moment to lean into Marinette, almost knocking her down, leash in his mouth, whining to go out. The Bruels couldn't get back from their honeymoon fast enough for me.


	14. Angst

_Chapter 14: Chubby Unicorn Mama - OK… I've been so mean to poor Chat so far… it's Marinette's turn for a meltdown. Oh, and Da-shiang bao-tza shr duh lah doo-tze is Manderin for "exploding diarrhea of an elephant." (yes, it's important to know this). All the Chinese I know, I learned from Firefly. This is another two-parter. The good news is more tomorrow. The bad news… you have to wait for the rest until tomorrow. _

She couldn't do it anymore. Adrien had broken her heart for the last time. Not that he even knew he had her heart, let alone that he repeatedly shattered it. They were friends, Marinette and Adrien. Good friends. She could talk to him about anything, except how she felt about him. Today, when he'd given her a hug and told her she was such a good friend, she was done!

She would remain friends with him, he didn't deserve anything less, but she was going to get over him. Entering her room after school, she took down every last picture of him. Anything that was from a magazine, or that she'd printed out from the internet, was immediately thrown in the trashcan. Anything that was a photo taken by her or her friends, she put in a pile to sort through. Any candid pictures of Adrien on his own, or just the two of them were similarly discarded, although pictures of them as a group were kept. Her hand had lingered over one that Alya had taken. Marinette was looking up at the camera, and Adrien had been watching Marinette with a small smile on his face. She knew it was because they'd been talking, and she'd only looked up as Alya had snapped the picture while Adrien was mid-sentence, but she'd kept it, trying to convince herself that he saw her as something more than a friend.

Her room looked bare without all the pictures, but it definitely helped to keep Adrien off her mind, for at least 30 seconds at a time. She realized that she needed to do more that just take the pictures down, and took her trash can full of pictures up to her balcony, where she carefully set up a little pyramid of pictures, and lit them on fire.

As he was heading towards his house, Chat Noir saw a curl of black smoke coming from a few streets away, so he took a detour to investigate. Realizing that it was rising from the roof of the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie-Patisserie, he hopped over to the balcony that Marinette had claimed as her own. As he approached, he heard her quiet sobs, and made his presence known, as he landed on the railing. Looking up at him, Marinette wiped her tear stained cheeks, and smiled at him, as if that would remove any traces of sadness from her being.

"Hello, Chat! What brings you to my neighborhood?" She asked, almost disguising the wobble in her voice.

"Oh, I was on an errand a few streets away, and saw the smoke." He waved at the quickly dissipating curl of black that was gently rising from the pile of charred paper. "What happened here? Designer's block?"

"No, Chat." Marinette sighed. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing, Princess. You've been crying. A girl like you deserves to have a happy song in her heart."

Marinette smiled truly for the first time since he'd arrived, and took a hard look at Chat. "You sound like a friend of mine. He said the same thing, only with music." After a pause, she added, "You don't happen to play the guitar do you?"

Chat smiled back at her. "Sorry, Princess, I'm a piano man, myself."

Marinette shook her head. "I didn't think so, Kitty, but I had to check. And you're right. It's not nothing. You see, there's this boy."

Trying to lighten the mood, Chat looked at the pile of charred paper and ash, and looked back at Marinette. "Don't tell me. That pile," he nudged it with his foot, "is all that is left of him."

Laughing, Marinette thought about it, then nodded. "It's all that is left of him in my room. You see, I've been in love with him for a long time now, but he rejected me again today. Not directly. He'd never be cruel, but he's made it clear that I'm nothing more than a friend. He means enough to me that I'm going to give him what he wants. I will just be a friend. I'll be the best friend he's ever had."

After looking at her, and wondering who could be so stupid as to NOT fall in love with such a kindhearted girl, Chat opened his arms to her. She stepped forwards and leaned into him, snaking her arms around his waist, and laying her head against his chest. She choked out "It's just so hard to do" before the tears started flowing again, soaking into the leather of his suit.

Once she had calmed down, Marinette realized that Chat was sitting in one of the chairs on her balcony, with her in is lap. Her arms were wound around him, and he was gently running his claws through her hair. She pulled out of his loose embrace as she started to apologize. "Oh Chat, I am so sorry. You didn't need to do this for me, but thank you. I know you have more important things to do than listen to some lovesick girl talk about her heartache."

"Princess, I am here to help the citizens of Paris. You are a citizen of Paris. And I am here to help you. Tell me about this Da-shiang bao-tza shr duh lah doo-tze and how he hurt you." She didn't know what the phrase meant, but his tone of voice, and smirk told her it was probably one of his more creative insults. He pulled her back down so that her head rested comfortably on his shoulder. "Tell Uncle Chat all about it."

Snort-laughing, Marinette relaxed into him. Unconsciously, he started rubbing circles on her back. "So… there's this boy." She sighed and fell silent.

"That much I guessed, Princess. And he's obviously not worth your time if he makes you this sad."

"That's just it. I know I'll never be half as good as him. He'll never see me the way I want him to. I don't deserve it." She turned her face into Chat's shoulder, so he couldn't see her face. "He's kind and generous; smart and thoughtful; popular and lonely. He's one of those people that you can't help but love, because he's just so good!"

Chat shook his head. "He sounds fake. Is he a robot? Nobody's that good."

"But he is!" Cried Marinette. "I thought the worst of him when I first met him. He was friends with Chloe, who was always a pretty big bully, and I thought he'd put gum in my seat. I was terrible to him about it, but it turns out that he was actually trying to take it off my seat." Lost in her memories, she didn't notice Chat tensing up underneath her. "And then, after I snubbed him for two days, he saw me trapped by the rain, and loaned me his umbrella. AFTER apologizing for something he didn't do. Actually, I still have it." She stood up, and walked over to her skylight, reached inside, and pulled out the umbrella. She turned around to show it to Chat, only to realize that he was standing by the railing with his baton out.

"Uh, I'm so sorry, Marinette. He sounds wonderful, but Ladybug is calling, and I have to go." Chat Noir had to get out of there. He realized that Marinette was talking about Adrien, and that he was the one who made her cry like that. He had no idea that she liked him like that, that she thought about him that way. He didn't know what to think, so he came up with the most plausible excuse that he could. He knew Marinette would understand if Ladybug called him. Paris could be in danger; he couldn't leave her hanging.

Marinette watched Chat as he ran away from her. He had just lied to her face. But why? She knew that Ladybug hadn't called him. She was right in front of him. She even checked with Tikki, but she assured Marinette that she hadn't contacted Plagg in any way. He must have been being polite, she decided, when he said he wanted to hear about the boy. He was a gentleman, after all. So why did she feel like she'd lost her best friend? Sighing, she listlessly wandered back inside, and putting her umbrella in her backpack, she decided she'd give it back tomorrow.

Climbing back up into bed, Marinette pulled the covers over her head, and cried herself to sleep.


	15. Found

_Chapter 15: Chubby Unicorn Mama – So I've accidentally broken both of our poor superheroes. Will I fix them? Or just kick them when they're down? Only one way to find out…. Keep reading!_

_I'm pretty sure I warned you a few chapters ago that I was evil…._

Chat Noir didn't sleep that night. He stayed out way too late, hoping to run into Ladybug, so he could at least tell Marinette that he'd spoken to her without lying, but he supposed that was just one more way that he was going to hurt her. When he had finally returned home and reverted to Adrien, he had spent the night tossing and turning, seeing Marinette's tear stained face every time he closed his eyes.

The next morning at school, Adrien was dragging. It didn't help that the first person he saw was Marinette, who approached him, and apologized to him for keeping the umbrella he'd let her borrow, and he'd been forced to accept her returning it to him. He felt terrible, and he knew the way he had run away from her the night before just made him feel worse. She had no way to know that he'd made up the call from Ladybug, but he knew, and it ate at him.

Marinette has a heavy heart as she sat down in class that day. She had given back something she'd held onto for too long: the umbrella that Adrien had given her. It was just another step in trying to get over him. He'd seemed sad and distracted when she'd handed it over, although she'd managed to apologize without stuttering. That was actually the first good thing to come from getting over Adrien. She could talk to him freely now. Sighing, she turned to Alya, "Does Adrien seem a little off today?"

"I thought you were getting over him." Alya gently chided. "But yes, Girl, he does seem a little out of it."

"Just because I've given up on us ever being a couple doesn't mean that he's not still my friend." Marinette pointed out, softly.

Alya prodded Nino. "What's up with Goldilocks?"

"He says it was a late-night photoshoot." Nino shrugged. "He told me yesterday he didn't have another one for a while, but you know what his dad's like."

Just then, Mlle. Bustier walked into class, and all conversation was ended. Marinette forced herself to pay attention in class, and mentally chastised herself every time her eyes strayed to the blonde head in front of her. School dragged on, and not really wanting to go home to her newly bare room, or the balcony where Chat had so uncharacteristically lied to her the night before, she volunteered to help Alya babysit her sisters, that afternoon, promising to do homework and talk Ladyblog with her.

Not having heard the conversation between the girls, Adrien decided that the best thing for him to do was to go talk to Marinette as Chat. It was raining lightly when he landed on her rooftop oasis, so when he tapped on the skylight and received no reply, his tired brain told him it would be fine to let himself in. Dropping through the skylight, he landed on her bed, but after he reached up to close the trapdoor behind him, could not muster the energy to move any further into her room. She had a blanket laying over the end of her bed, and he wrapped that around himself, as he lay down to wait for her.

Several hours later, Marinette came home, her homework completed, and in a better mood than she'd been in all day. Despite having talked Ladybug and Chat Noir with Alya, Marinette remembered the kindness of her kitty, and knew he wouldn't have lied to her last night without good reason. Heading up to her room to drop off her backpack and let Tikki out of her purse, she was surprised to hear a soft rumbling sound coming from her bed. Climbing the ladder to investigate, she saw Chat Noir, curled in a ball on her bed, blanket trailing off him, snoring little kitty snores. Once the initial shock had passed, she saw how relaxed and angelic he looked. She almost laughed aloud at that thought… Chat, angelic!

While she hated to disturb his slumber, she couldn't just leave him sleeping in her bed, so she reached over to scratch behind his kitty ears. The soft rumbling grew louder as the snores turned into purrs, and Chat's green eyes flashed open. He yawned and stretched in a very feline manner before turning his eyes on the owner of the bed in which he was sleeping.

"Marinette!" He exclaimed, surprised, before taking in his surroundings, and realizing he was in her room. "What happened?"

She laughed at his confusion. "I don't know, Chat, you tell me. I came home after dinner and found you sleeping in my bed!"

"After dinner!" Now Chat looked shocked. "I came by after I got out of school to apologize to you. I must have fallen asleep on your bed! I am so sorry!"

Still giggling, Marinette said, "So you came by to apologize for falling asleep on my bed… even though you hadn't done that yet?" She laughed harder at his expression. "Seriously, Chat, it's ok. I know that as a superhero, you sometimes have to lie to people. Just know, you never have to lie to me. If there is something you can't tell me, just say you can't tell me. I'll never be one of those friends you need to make up excuses for."

Chat was fully awake, now. She knew he'd lied to her. But how?

Marinette realized her mistake as she saw calculation sweep away the confusion on his face. How would Marinette know that he had lied. "You said Ladybug called you… but I never heard your phone ring, and you never pulled it out." She quickly explained without looking up at him.

Changing the subject, Marinette asked if he were hungry. Chat's signature grin, and reply of "Always" were enough to break the mood, and have the teens smiling. Running downstairs to grab him something to eat, Marinette snuck Tikki a cookie or two.

She placed the plate of food on her desk, and sat on her chaise, while Chat Noir lounged in her desk chair. Once he snagged his third cookie, Chat turned to Marinette. "I actually came to apologize for running away on you, yesterday. You're right, Ladybug didn't call me. I was uncomfortable with our topic of conversation. I should have just said something instead of leaving, and for that I am truly sorry."

"It's alright, Kitty. I understand. As a superhero, I'm sure you have to keep a lot of secrets."

Chat Noir smiled at Marinette. They chatted for a little while, until the plate was empty. "I probably should get home." He sighed. "I was probably missed at dinner, and I do need to put in an appearance tonight. Thank you for being such a great friend, Marinette."

Marinette's eyes narrowed at his choice of words, but hugged him, and wished him a good night. After he left, she went down to check on her parents, who were just heading to bed. She headed back up to her bedroom, but felt too restless to settle at anything, so talked to Tikki, and decided to go for a nighttime stroll as Ladybug.

Once she was out swinging from the rooftops, Ladybug felt that she could really breathe for the first time since she decided to let go of her crush on Adrien. The freedom had her doing a few more tricks than usual, which resulted in a huge smile on her face.

She was still smiling when Chat Noir blew past her, smacking her on the shoulder, and yelling "Tag! You're it!"

The two chased each other around the rooftops, both having restless energy to burn off, until they eventually wound down, almost an hour later, sitting companionably on quiet rooftop. Chat looked at his partner, her cheeks pink from exertion, her eyes bright, and a small smile hovering on her lips. "May I ask your advice, Milady? My civilian self has done something, and I want to fix it, I just don't know how."

"I can certainly try to help, Kitty." Ladybug reached over, and touched his arm, comfortingly.

"I won't go into too much detail, but I just need to talk to someone. I hurt a friend of mine. I didn't mean to. I didn't even realize that I was doing it. You see, I was out as myself yesterday," he gestured to his costume, "When I heard a good friend of mine crying."

"Chat, wait."

"I promise not to say too many details. She was telling me about a boy that she was in love with, and he was too oblivious to notice her. It was when she was telling me about him that I realized I knew who she was talking about."

"Chat"

"She was talking about me."

"CHAT!"

"I made up an excuse to get away, because I couldn't deal with realizing that I was the one that had hurt her that badly. I told her you were calling me, and I just ran away."

"Chat."

Looking annoyed that she'd kept interrupting, he looked up from where he was sitting to where she'd stood to pace. "What?"

She stopped pacing to look down at him, an unreadable look on her face. "I know."

He looked at her, confused. "What do you know?"

"I know why you lied to her… Adrien." Ladybug refused to meet his eyes.

"How did you…?" His eyes grew huge as he wondered what had given him away.

"Tikki, Spots off." Before he could react, a pink light engulfed her, and in front of him stood Marinette, Looking down at her shoes. "I'm sorry. I had no idea what had made you run, but I knew I wasn't calling you." She chuckled softly.

Before she realized what was happening, Marinette was engulfed in a hug, as Chat threw his arms around her, pulling her in tight. "Milady. I found you. You were closer than I ever realized."


	16. Ghosts

_Chapter 16: Ghosts. Chubby Unicorn Mama – We're all haunted by something. For Chat Noir, it is guilt. _

Two figures were on the balcony at the very top of the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. One bathed in light, the other in darkness. Chat Noir sat in a chair, his head in his hands, knees drawn up, ears drooping, tears streaking down his face. Marinette hovered beside him, sorrow and heartbreak etched in every line of her face, hands reaching out, but not quite touching him, doing what she could to both comfort and draw comfort from the boy beside her.

"It's been a week since we lost her."

"I know, Kitty. I'm sorry"

"She died a week ago."

"There's nothing you could have done."

"I should have taken that hit."

"You were too far away."

"I should have done something to protect her."

"There is nothing you could have done."

"I should have been faster."

"Chaton, you saved every other person in Paris. That is enough."

"It's my fault she's not here."

"It's not your fault. It's Hawkmoth's"

"I should have been closer. I should have saved her."

"If you'd been anywhere but where you were, a lot of innocent people would have died instead. You did the right thing."

Chat Noir pulled out the Ladybug ragdoll that Marinette had made all that time ago. He griped the doll against his chest. "I am so sorry. I failed you. I came here to be close to you. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, Kitty. You've never failed me."

"I didn't know she was you."

"I'm sorry, Kitty."

"I wish I'd known."

"I am so, so sorry, Kitty."

"I loved you. I still do. Both of you. You've both left me."

"Mon Minou, I am always with you. I may have left my body behind, but I will always watch over you."

"Marinette. I've only ever wanted to protect you. If only you were a little less brave. A little less willing to put yourself out there in place of others. Maybe you would still be here with me. Maybe that's selfish, but I need you. Paris needs you. How can you be gone? When I saw Ladybug take that final hit, and lay there so still. When I saw that pink light, and I saw you lying there, Marinette. When Paris lost you… when I lost you. When I realized that you were gone, both of you were the same person. When that happened, my heart shattered. Oh Marinette. What am I going to do without you?"

Marinette lay her ghostly hand on the shoulder of her partner, her love, her friend. There was nothing that she could say that he would hear. Nothing that she could do that he would feel. She could just be there and watch over him. Because Marinette Dupain-Cheng loved Chat Noir with her whole heart, and she always would.


	17. Rooftop Save

_Seventeen: Rooftop Save_

_Author's Note: Epcot97 here. ChubbyUnicornMama is off cooking up puns for our next duo piece, allowing me to insert this entry for #MariChatMay2019. This chapter - for May 17 – finds Chat figuratively hanging by a claw, with only one person capable of rescuing him._

_Chubby Unicorn Mama: *stirs cauldron full of puns*_

_I'm excited to report that we still don't own the rights to Miraculous. Hah! Had you there for a moment. -Ep_

_If we don't own the rights, then what's left? Nope. These puns aren't done yet. *goes back to stirring*_

So, this was embarrassing.

It was a romantically moonlit night, and I was not living up to my reputation as a catsanova. Ladybug had declined my nine hundred and ninety-ninth invitation to hang out together after saving Paris yet again and I was starting to get the picture: she really didn't want to spend time with me, unless we were… saving Paris. But having found my rolodex lacking additional contacts, I was instead hanging out with my loneliness while watching the boats drift by on the Seine, their wake reflecting in the milky white light.

I was used to being alone. I had few friends at school - actually, like, two; three, if I assumed Marinette had the ability to complete a full sentence in the presence of my alter-ego. Father generally ignored me at home and most meals were spent in the company of my kwami, who I surreptitiously slipped cheese to under the table.

I smiled a bit at that. Plagg, as curmudgeonly as he was, was definitely a friend, so I suppose that meant I had four total. Maybe that was average; I had no idea. Contrary to my Chat persona, I wasn't terribly outgoing as my alter-ego. My tail twisted, telegraphing my despair. Here I was, one of the most famous people in Paris, and I had no one to talk to. That brought a wry smile to my masked face.

Standing, I pulled my baton out from the small of my back and popped it open to phone mode. It was still early, Chat-time wise, and despite what I might have been feeling, I wasn't yet interested in leaving him behind for the day. I experienced an amazing freedom as Chat, from my ability to dance across the rooftops of the city with ease to saying whatever came to mind, cheesy puns included. And I loved keeping Paris safe. It was an obligation I took seriously, contrary to my oft-goofy interactions with my partner.

The smile faded as I again thought of Ladybug. I had to face facts, it was probably time to box up what I felt and move on. Much easier said than done, though.

I pushed off the slanted tile roof and twirled up my baton, helicoptering over the quiet streets with no particular destination in mind. I landed on a rooftop and slowly trotted toward the edge, but slowed as my feline sense of smell picked up something delicious on the wind. Apparently, I did have a destination in mind as I had unconsciously made a beeline for the Dupain-Cheng Bakery – and the one person Chat might be able to count on as friend.

For Marinette was a completely different person when she was with Chat. I'd taken to irregular visits with her after that first night Ladybug had stood me up; each time, she had welcomed me warmly, regardless of any other plans she might have had prior to my appearance. Usually I was just looking for a place to hang out for a bit, for most evenings – such as tonight – I was loath to detransform and return to being Ordinary Adrien. I'd even gone as far as feeding Plagg in order to re-transform after having used my Cataclysm just for the chance to spend time not being Adrien.

Tonight was different. I needed a friendly ear; but was it fair of me to drop in and ask for free kitty counseling? I was completely aware of how she felt about Adrien, and how little I had responded to her. Now we'd have switched positions, with me mewling about being forlorn, knowing full well I was the one breaking her heart.

Well, not Chat. Adrien.

Like there was a difference.

I sighed, and stood there a bit longer. The lights were on that had been strung haphazardly across the space, and I could see the source of what I was smelling – a tray of freshly baked cookies were cooling on a baking sheet beside her chaise lounge. And… was that a fan blowing across the cookies? In my direction?

That brought a smile to my face. Somehow, she'd known I'd pass close by and had upped the chances I'd swing through. Very clever.

Decision made, I leapt back up and helicoptered to the rooftop balcony, landing in a four-point crouch. Marinette was nowhere to be seen, and the cookies were tantalizingly unprotected. I listened carefully and my feline ears didn't detect anyone in the room below.

I slid my baton behind my back, tensed for a pounce, and narrowed my eyes, focusing on the tray; my tail twisted in anticipation. I took a deep breath and then sprung across the space in an easy move, arcing over the baking tray and snagging two cookies in one paw as I sailed up and onto the chaise lounge. The cushions were just springy enough I was able to somersault from the lounge to the brick half-wall just behind it. Self-preservation required me to be out of arm's reach, and the wall happened to fit the parameters nicely.

Smiling, I turned around to face the space and held my paw open to check out my ill-gotten goods. My masked eyes widened: they were round sugar cookies, carefully decorated with a layer of black icing. On top of the base layer, an accurate version of my green paw print had been hand drawn. They were, literally, Chat Cookies.

I looked down at the baking tray, quickly taking inventory. There were two dozen, altogether, including the (now) one and a half I was munching on. Someone had been very busy, and totally on my account. As I finished the second cookie, reveling in the way the vanilla and sugar flavors ballroom danced together across my feline taste buds, my feline ears finally heard movement in the bedroom below.

Quickly wiping the crumbs from my costume, I dropped to the chaise lounge and arranged myself as if I'd been sitting there all along – but not before slightly adjusting the remaining cookies to try and hide my malfeasance. Arms behind my blond mane, I casually turned toward the skylight as it opened and Marinette appeared.

"Chat?" she said as she paused, holding the door open with one hand.

"Hey Purrincess," I said lightly. "Clawsome night for a visit, don't you think?"

Something played at her mouth as she exited the skylight and took a step toward me. "Chat," she said, leaning over me. "You have crumbs on you face."

I sat up. "I do?" I said, quickly wiping away at my masked face.

"No," she said, laughing, "but you do have a guilty conscious. And I can see two cookies are missing from the tray already."

"Ah," I said, a slight blush of embarrassment tinging my exposed cheeks. "Would you believe me if I told you I'd needed to use them to fend off an akuma?"

"No," she said, as she pushed my legs over a bit to sit on the edge of the lounge. "But they were for you anyway, kitty." She smiled at me. "I had a sense you might be looking for a friend tonight."

I looked at her. "How could you possibly know that, Princess?" I asked as I snaked a hand out and nabbed another unfortunate cookie.

"Want to know a secret?" she asked conspiratorially.

My feline ears went straight up. "Uh, sure," I said, masked green eyes wide.

"I've been watching you," she said, bopping me on the nose with a finger. "And I couldn't help but notice that you'd passed by the balcony four times this week without stopping." She smiled. "That seemed to me to be the International Chat Sign of Troubled Souls."

"Ah," I said, "was I that obvious?"

"Kind of," she chuckled.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I admit I was waffling as to whether I wanted to saddle you with my troubles," I said. "You've been so kind to me, I didn't want to dump on you and jeopardize our friendship."

"Who do you talk to, Chat?" she asked, all serious now. "I mean, really talk to?"

"Who can I?" I countered with a self-conscious chuckle. "Aside from Ladybug, there isn't anyone in Paris that can relate to my situation." I paused, and looked away. "And she's not terribly interested in doing anything with me outside of our Official Duties," I added quietly.

She put a hand to my face and gently turned it back. Her eyes were glistening, but I wasn't entirely sure why. "I'm sure that's not the case," she said softly.

"From where I'm sitting, Princess, it's very much the case." I couldn't help the pain that was showing in my eyes. Until that moment, the force of her rejection of me hadn't sunk in. I defiantly snuck a fourth cookie, letting my super high metabolism have its way.

As I dusted the last of the crumbs from my paw, I caught the look Marinette was giving me. "What?"

"I going to rescue you, kitty," she said, a smile forming.

My masked brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

Unexpectedly, she swiveled around and snuggled into my chest, putting her head under my chin. "You've been so busy saving Paris, you've overlooked saving yourself," she murmured.

I tried to find my voice. This was an unexpected maneuver from someone I cared about. And until that moment, I'd never considered her more than a friend – although I was rapidly realizing I might actually feel something else toward her as well. "What…" I cleared my throat. "What are you getting at?"

Marinette looked up at me through her bangs. "You are not alone in the world, Chat," she said. "Ladybug might not be able to be… more than she is to you right now; but I'm your friend, and I will always be here for you." She snuggled back down again. "That is, of course, if you want me to be."

"I'd like that very much," I said honestly. "If you don't mind. I already spend a lot of time with you. If you have someone else in your life, I don't want them to get the wrong impression…"

She sighed. "There's no one at the moment," she said, and I knew she was thinking about Adrien and my own bob-and-weaving I'd done with her. With the shoe on the other foot, I was starting to understand how Marinette might feel on regular basis. I realized this was an opportunity to repair my heart, and possibly fix hers, too. And I knew in that moment I was going to take it.

I hugged her. "Then consider this kitty saved," I said, a little bit of happiness creeping into my voice. "And pencil me in for a visit each evening, then," I added. "Especially if you're providing cookies."

Her head popped off my chest. "I can't guarantee that," she said.

"Now that would be a crisis," I said, laughing for the first time in days. I hugged her close again. "Princess, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship…"


	18. Balconies

_Author's Note: Epcot97 here. This special May 18th chapter was literally written by both ChubbyUnicornMama and I using this newfangled tool call Google Docs – who knew a team could actually write something as a team? Clever thing, this internet._

_I'm not even going to mention the whole we-don't-own Miraculous bit. You know the drill by now._

The late summer sun warmed the rooftop balcony, and the two figures lazed in the sunshine like cats. Which was incredibly appropriate, seeing as how one of them WAS a cat. At least in part. Marinette and Chat Noir lay in chairs on her balcony, soaking up the late afternoon sun, a pitcher of lemonade, and a plate of cookies between them.

Marinette was watching Chat, his head was back, his eyes were closed, and seemed intent on absorbing every photon the sun put out. Shaking her head, Marinette asked him, "Don't you get hot laying out in the sun in black leather? I'm pretty sure that cannot be comfortable."

Chat cracked open one masked green eye and looked at Marinette. "I'm a cat, Princess. I'm pretty sure, if I could fold myself into the sun, I would do it." He closed his eye. "Besides, it's not exactly leather."

"Not exactly leather?" Marinette reached out a hand, running one finger down his arm, testing the fabric and subtly looking for seams. "It feel like leather. What is it made from?"

"Mmm?" Chat responded. The warmth of the sun had put him into cat-doze mode, and he wasn't entirely sure he was listening to Marinette. "What's what made of?" He cracked open an eye again. "Oh - we're still talking about my costume. I guess it's kinda leather."

Chat stretched out luxuriously. "Definitely as flexible as leather," he laughed. "I mean, I was likely thinking something along those lines when I created the design, so I'd presume it's the 'magical equivalent' of leather."

"You created the design?" Marinette's interest was piqued. "How did you do that? I thought the suit magically appeared. Who did you have design it? How does that even work?" She laughed. "Sorry. You've got the designer in me curious. May I take a closer look?" She blushed faintly.

"Uh, sure," he said, opening both eyes a bit warily. As Marinette slid off her chair to lean in, he kept speaking - possibly to tamp back some trepidation. "You're not wrong - the suit did just 'appear' the first time I transformed. But according to my kw-I mean, my, uh, mentor as it were, the costume reflects what I want the most." He paused, trying not to tense as she examined his arm intently. "Or something like that."

"No way! That is amazing! So you thought leather, and leather appeared? Amazing! And there are pockets, right? I've seen you pull stuff out of them! And where are your seams?" Her questing fingers were poking at all different parts of his suit, searching for the seams.

As if she'd forgotten that he was still wearing the suit, Marinette's fingers ran down his side, and he squirmed. "Watch it, Princess, that tickles!"

She pulled her fingers back as if burned. "I'm so sorry, Chat. I just get so wrapped up in design stuff. And how often does one get to see a magically designed suit?"

His masked wide green eyes crinkled in good humor. "I get it. I…" he paused, apparently choosing his words carefully, "I am not unfamiliar with the world of fashion. I think I can safely say my costume is one-of-a-kind." He put a claw to his chin. "Maybe one-of-two, if you consider Ladybug in the mix." Chat turned back to Marinette. "To answer your questions, yes, I have pockets," he said, demonstrating by unzipping one. "They aren't terribly big. And no, there aren't any seams; at least, none that are detectable."

Chat twisted slightly to show his side, and pointed with a claw. "If you run your finger along the centerline there - gently, please - you'll feel what I mean."

She reached over and brushed her finger where he'd indicated. "Wow," she said, eyebrows raised. "It's really subtle. I can feel it, but I can't see it."

"Magic," he smiled.

Marinette pointed to the bell. "Is that really a zipper?" she asked.

A little color rose on Chat's face. "More or less," he answered quickly, then attempted to change the subject. "What fascinates you so much about fashion design?" he asked. "It's an amazingly cutthroat business. I'd hate to see you ground up by it."

Marinette's eyes showed a determination that he normally saw in another pair of blue eyes when being faced down by an akuma. "I know that it is a cutthroat industry, but it doesn't have to be. I've always loved taking something and making it more beautiful. There is beauty in everything, you just have to bring it out, whether it is a piece of fabric, a flower or a person. I love to be the one to find that inner light, and help it to shine. Ever since I was little, I've had ideas for tweaking clothes. I loved to draw them out, and see them come to life in my sketchbook. It wasn't until my grandmother taught me how to sew, that I was truly able to make my ideas come alive. To take something that I have found the beauty in, something that I have made shine, and to have someone else fall in love with it, to have them wear it, well, it's like having them take a little piece of myself and call it beautiful."

Sighing, Marinette added, "I know that everything I make won't be loved by everyone. Sometimes only a handful of people can see the beauty in something, but that doesn't mean you stop looking, or stop trying to bring it out." Her smile reappeared as she grabbed a cookie. "It's kind of like baking. Lots of people can do it, some really well, and some just enough to get by. You put a little love in everything you make, and people will see that." She held up the cookie. "Or taste that."

She turned her blue eyes on Chat. "What about you? If you could do anything in this world, what would it be?

"Aside from marrying Ladybug?" he said, laughing.

Marinette's eyes widened a little. "Be serious, Chat."

"I am," he said wistfully. "But it is a fair question."

He looked away for a moment as Marinette settled back into her chair and picked back up her lemonade. "If you'd asked me that question before I was Chat Noir, I'd have probably told you something that would have let me quietly help people. Social work, perhaps; maybe even something like the Peace Corps." He turned back to Marinette. "Now that I am Chat Noir, I'm able to do those sorts of things today. Ladybug and I fend off our share of villains spawned by Hawkmoth, but we also are able to help people with large and small problems throughout Paris." He sat back. "I can effect good, and it's something I never tire of."

"That's deep. For a cat."

"Yeah," he smiled. "I am multifaceted, Princess. Not just another furry face."

She leaned over and made a show of examining the exposed sections of Chat's visiage. "I hate to break this to you, Chat, but…"

A tiny flush crept back into his complexion. "Side effect of being blonde?" he said, tentatively.

"Right," she said, smiling. "I have a feeling Ladybug might agree with you on that one point."

"My furry face?"

"No, silly kitty. The 'helping people' part."

"Yeah," he nodded. "So to answer your question, for real, I would stay as Chat Noir forever,"

"Is that possible?" she asked.

"No," Chat replied. "At some point, somewhere else will need the Miraculouses."

He turned back to her. "Can I ask a purrsonal question?"

"Sure, Chat."

"What is it with you and Adrien, anyway?"

Marinette's expression turned dreamy and sad at the same time. "In truth? We're really good friends. As he tells everyone." She said with a fleeting look of distaste. "Unfortunately, what I want is in the same realm as you and Ladybug… and just as likely to happen. He is one of the most kind-hearted people I know. In many ways, you remind me of him. You both have this innate sense of fairness that makes you stand up for what's right, no matter how unpopular that opinion may be. You both hate to hurt people any more than you have to. He does his best not to leave anyone out. I think that's because he's been lonely for so long. He has so few people who care about him for who he is on the inside rather than who his family is or what he looks like."

"I was nothing but rude to him for the first 36 hours we knew each other, over a misunderstanding, and then he apologized for something he didn't do, and was kind and thoughtful. He rarely stands up for himself, instead puts everyone else's feelings above his own. I mean, yeah, the fact that he's gorgeous doesn't hurt, but that's secondary. He's gorgeous on the inside, where it counts."

Marinette was blushing heavily by this point, but she spoke her words passionately. "Fair's fair, Chat. We all know Ladybug is some perfect superheroine." Marinette rolled her eyes as she said the last part. "Why exactly do you love her? What do you guys really know about each other? I mean, would you love her if she wasn't a superhero? If you weren't?"

She caught the look Chat quickly gave her, before his masked face resumed its normal expression. "I know her better than she realizes," he said. "She has a deep compassion for everyone she cares about, and such an amazing desire to make a difference that it makes me want to be a better Chat." He sighed, his eyes taking on a hazy quality as he continued to enumerate. "She's the smartest person I know, too, and never, ever gives up. And she has this amazing ability to bring out the best in people."

Chat turned toward Marinette. "Ladybug takes more risks than I wish she would, though, but usually they are well founded. I'm just glad I'm there to protect her, though she'd likely object to my characterization of my role." He laughed. "Usually she's saving me."

Marinette was smiling. "I think she values you as a partner, Chat; you're definitely not just her personal bodyguard."

He nodded. "I know she does," he said, still smiling, "but I like to play the role of goofy sidekick to her brain." Chat leaned back again. "You asked how I could love someone I don't know. The fact is, I feel like I do know her. I'm sure I would find that she is the same person without the mask; and I would love her just the even if neither of us were superheroes."

Chat did truly believe that, deep in his heart. But he was also trying to decide how to handle what Marinette had said about his alter-ego. While he'd long known about her crush, he'd never considered how she had actually viewed Adrien as a person. It made him all the happier that he'd managed to create a meaningful relationship with her as Chat, and not just as some stopgap measure allowing him to pass the time before Ladybug came to her senses about him.

For her part, Marinette was taken with how Chat appeared to see his partner. From the beginning, she had intentionally spurned his flirtatious advances, seeing them as impeding their ability to be the superheroes Paris needed. But now, hearing the truth in what he was saying about her, she understood better that it was not just a simple flash-in-the-pan emotion Chat had for Ladybug. It was deeper. Almost on a par with how she felt about Adrien. Marinette found herself thankful she'd taken the bold step of letting Chat get close to her civilian self; he was far more sensitive and passionate than his nighty persona with Ladybug would have led her to believe.

Chat looked at Marinette sideways. "So there you have it. We two are nearly the same, it seems, pining away for nearly purrfect soulmates that have no interest in us." His masked green eyes gazed at her with a warmth she was now finally starting to understand. "What do we do about it, Princess?"

"The way I see it, we have options. First, we could stick with the status quo. Change nothing, keep pining, and hoping that things change. Another option would be to sit them down and tell them." Marinette held up a hand. "I know you've told her, Chat. But tell her what you've told me. You've been telling her you're in love with her before you had a chance to get to know her. Let her know that you know her. Show her that you would love her even if she didn't have her mask on."

Marinette sat up in her chair, and turned to face her friend. "Or we could open our hearts to someone else, and move on. Not the easiest option, but possibly the best choice."

Chat considered his friend in the opposite chair. He'd essentially come to the same three paths forward himself some time ago, and had wondered if Marinette had, too. His feline ears had therefore perked up at the realization she was at exactly the same place he was. Would he still love Ladybug? Probably. But he knew in his heart-of-hearts he'd already moved on.

Chat smiled at Marinette. "I think, Princess, I'm ready for what's behind door number three."

"Are you?" she replied, smiling wider. "And what, exactly, are you hoping to find behind that door, kitty?"

Chat leapt out of his chair and landed on top of Marinette, who let out a startled giggle. He rolled them over so they were side by side on her chaise, and ran a claw tip gently down her nose.

"You," he said, simply.

She smiled in complete agreement.


	19. Flowers

_Nineteen: Flowers_

_Author's Note: Epcot97 here. This special May 19th chapter was literally written by both ChubbyUnicornMama and I the same way as yesterday, because it was so gosh-darn fun!_

_We don't own Miraculous. Nope. Not even a little. We pooled our money, and were able to buy one of Adrien's stinky socks. Which Plagg promptly stole. (Epcot97: Wait, what? I sent you how much for a sock we don't own anymore..?!)_

Springtime in Paris. There is no more beautiful sight. The birds are singing, the air is warming, and the flowers are in full bloom. Marinette had always loved the spring. The spring fashion lines were always full of bright colors, people were friendlier, everyone had windows and doors open. Since she'd become Ladybug, however, spring was an obsession. Gone was the sluggishness that she felt in the cold air, her energy had returned full force, and she bounced out of bed with the sun. She had an almost compulsive need to stop and smell every flower that she passed by, and spent as much time as she could outside.

She and Chat had been dating since that fateful day on her balcony at the end of last summer. Dating might not be the best term, because they couldn't actually go on dates, but they had been spending more time together, and there had been snuggling, and kissing. Definitely kissing. Marinette grinned at the thought of kissing Chat Noir. It was a very pleasant thought. She was sitting on her balcony, in almost the exact spot that he had kissed her that first time, eyes closed, daydreaming about boys in kitty ears, when she heard a familiar thump. "I was just thinking about you" Marinette said, smiling.

"Oh, really?" replied Chat Noir. "Good things, I hope."

Marinette stood and took a step towards him. Tugging gently at his bell, she pulled his body flush against hers. "You tell me" she said, winding her arms around his neck and pulling him down into a kiss.

His ears went straight up and his eyes closed as he leaned into the moment, enjoying the sensation of having Marinette in his life. Even with his enhanced abilities, Chat had to come up for air and pulled away slightly, gazing down into her deep blue eyes. "Yes," he smiled, "I'd say they were good things." He paused. "Especially if you'd been thinking about that very thing."

Chat leaned back against the railing, and Marinette put her head down onto his chest as he wrapped his paws around her. "So what's the plan for today, Purrincess?" he asked, though she nearly couldn't hear his question over the deep contented rumble of a purr emanating from him.

"I can't believe you can do that," she said.

He laughed. "I am a cat, after all. It shouldn't be that surprising." Chat ran a claw through her hair, accidently snagging one of the ties to her pigtail. "Oops!" he said as he tried to disentangle it.

"Ow!" Marinette said, hands flying to her pigtail to assist. "Anyway," she said as she carefully removed the claw, "I was thinking of sketching some of the flowers at the park. And maybe a particular black kitty if he were so inclined."

"I'm in," he said happily. "Grab your materials! This flight is about to leave."

Marinette laughed. "Hold on! Let me tell my parents that I'm leaving, but not by the normal route." She said, waving a hand to indicate the front door. She ran down to the bakery to let her parents know where she was going, and returned with a bag that Chat thought smelled absolutely delicious. Tossing her drawing pencils and sketchpad into her backpack, along with the sweatpants and hoodie that Chat wore on the rare occasions they were out together, she carefully placed the treats on the top, and zipped it closed.

Despite her careful hiding of the treats, Chat still sniffed the air as she stepped out of the skylight. "What did you bring me, Princess?" He asked, stepping forward, and trying to reach around her.

"Nothing." Marinette grinned, pushing him back with a hand against his chest. "But I am bringing some croissants for myself." Her hand started stroking his chest, trying to get him to purr again. "If you're good, I'll share."

Chat waggled his eyebrows at her. "Oh I'll be good." He told her with a Cheshire Cat grin.

Shaking her head, Marinette smacked his arm, and jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist, and her arms around his neck. "Let's go to the Buttes-Chaumont, it's usually quieter there, and there are lots of out of the way spots."

Snaking one arm around her waist, and holding her tighter to him, Chat Noir pulled out his baton, and prepared to carry his girlfriend to one of the more romantic gardens in Paris.

"You realize there is an extra charge due to distance," Chat said as he leapt off the balcony and helicoptered to the first rooftop.

"Let me guess. A pastry upcharge?" Marinette laughed. "That stomach of yours will get you into trouble yet, kitty."

"Promises, promises," he replied as he leapt once more into the air with his precious cargo.

Chat wasn't kidding - the park in question was on the opposite side of Paris from the Bakery. But he was also aware that the spring rains had made it a top spot for romantic getaways. At length, he landed on a final rooftop on the southern edge of the park, pausing long enough for the duo to enjoy the wide expanse of green. "Do you have a particular spot in mind, Princess?"

She pointed to a field that was bordered by lush trees, fronting a portion of the pond. "Over there, Chat, if you please." She paused, digging through her bag. "But you should put this on before we go over," she added, handing him his hoodie and sweats.

Chat pouted. "Seriously? Can't I this one time-"

"Remember, be good, kitty," she reminded him, angling the bag to show the croissants.

"By your command," he intoned, bringing a laugh from Marinette as pulled on his "disguise." "Maybe I could request some holes for the ears?" he asked as he adjusted the hoodie.

"That would defeat the purpose entirely."

He smiled. "Exactly," he said as he picked her back up and leapt across the street and gently landed with a thump on the paved walkway. Holding her hand like the other couples wandering the park, they started down the pathway and arrived at the shady area Marinette had identified. Chat helped her set up her spot and then folded himself into his patented patient cat stance, eyeing the bag of goodies.

After about half an hour of sketching, Marinette wanted to turn her attention to the greenery, rather than boy in front of her. She shuffled over next to him, leaning into his hood to kiss him, and said, "Thank you" before nudging her backpack towards him, angling it so that he could reach in and snag a snack. She snuggled up against him for a few minutes, savouring his warmth, before angling her body away from where he gazed out over the pond. She sat and sketched the tulips behind her, occasionally standing and stepping over to get a closer look at the flowers. On her third trip to view the flowers up close, Chat noticed that she hadn't returned for quite some minutes. He looked over, expecting to see her crouched by the flowers, sketching them up close. He did not, however, expect to see his girlfriend laying flat on her back in the bed of tulips, one pressed to her nose, stroking another, with an absolutely blissful expression on her face.

Looking around to see if anyone was watching, Chat dashed over to pull Marinette out of the flowers. "Princess, are you alright? What are you doing over here? You aren't supposed to be laying in the lillies."

Marinette giggled as he lifted her. "They're tulips, silly. Tulips are so pretty! Don't you just love flowers?" she asked, pressing the tulip to her nose. "So pretty. Just like you." She sniffed his neck. "And you smell good. You both make me so happy." Practically trilling the last words, she wiggled out of Chat's grasp, to twirl, arms outstretched, in the sunshine.

Chat laughed at her, but settled her against his side, when she picked up her sketchbook. Making sure that she ate a croissant, just in case, he kept her close to him. Other than that one episode, however, she acted completely normally for the next hour and a half. Having put her sketchbook aside in favor of snuggling, Marinette sat with her back resting against Chat's chest. She looked up at him, and he'd just leaned forward to kiss her, when they heard the tell-tale crash and screams of an akuma.

Chat's head twisted away from Marinette and his masked eyes narrowed as he tried to determine where the action was going down. Gently, he tried to unwind himself from Marinette, but was also torn: he knew Ladybug would be waiting for him, but was reluctant to leave his girlfriend unprotected. "Princess, I've got to go," he said. "Purromise me you'll stay right here?"

"Anything you want," Marinette said dreamily, tapping her finger against his chest with each word. "You know, I love you, kitty… really, really love you? Right?"

Chat raised a masked eyebrow for she'd pronounced "really" as if it had a "w" in it. "I don't know what those tulips did to you, Mari," he said. "I'm a little worried about you."

"I'm fine," she said. "Go." She paused. "Wait, why are you going?"

The other masked eyebrow went up as additional screams issued from the other side of the park. "Ah," he said, as he gently removed her finger from his chest. "I'm just gonna take care of that akuma with Ladybug, and then I'll come right back, 'kay?"

"Akuma?" Marinette said, eyes widening. She struggled to stand up. "I've got to go…"

"No, you don't," Chat said, gently pressing her back down. He stood instead and shed his hoodie and sweats, quickly folding them and setting them beside her. "Stay," he commanded.

"I'm not a dog," Marinette frowned, then smiled. "And neither are you!" she said gleefully.

"Right," Chat frowned, now very worried; another crash forced him to bound away from Marinette and use his baton to vault up and above the treeline. Balanced at the top, flagpole style, he surveyed the far side of the park and saw clouds of dust where a companion field to the one they had been lounging in had been; a wide swath of foliage was also missing, including the old-growth trees that had been part of the makeup of the park for decades.

Squinting, his enhanced feline vision thought it was seeing a tall figured in a plaid flannel shirt, jeans and suspenders, weilding a massive chainsaw. It hurt him to the core to watch the akuma take out another section of trees edging the small pond. Leaning forward, he let the baton fall toward that side of the park and leapt off when he judged he had the right arc to land close (but not too close) to the akuma.

"Say, friend," he said loudly from his pounce-crouch. "I'm pretty sure you need a permit to clearcut-"

He never finished as he had to leap away from the chainsaw that swiped through where he'd been sitting. "That is a rather cutting response, friend," Chat said as he somersaulted over the akuma and landed in what was left of the field. "Maybe you'd like to talk it out?"

Closer to the akuma, Chat could see it might have been one of the park attendants as the akuma garb vaguely resembled the uniforms they wore (short of the plaid flannel). Chat tried to remember if he'd seen anything in the news about this particular park - anything that might have created Hawkmoth's latest victim. Vaulting once more to the top of a set of restrooms in order to avoid another swipe from the chainsaw, he thought he'd gotten high enough but quickly realized he'd miscalculated.

Mister Saw (Chat's name for this akuma) continued the chainsaw's arc down and away from Chat, and sliced cleanly through the side wall of the restroom. The roof fell away from Chat, and he tumbled down into the debris, choking on the wood shavings and dust. He managed to land on all fours and vaulted out of the structure before it completely imploded on top of him, but was wearing several pounds of sawdust as a result.

Rolling into his pounce-crouch in the field, he realized Ladybug had yet to appear. As he started to pull his baton out to see where she had gotten to, nearly on cue, he heard the ziiing! of her yo-yo, and turned to enjoy her graceful entrance… and frowned as he watched her wobble through the sky and crash land in a heap of limbs several meters away from him, the yo-yo trailing her out of the sky and bouncing several times before coming to rest.

Chat leapt directly to her side. "Milady?" he asked, concern in his voice. "Are you feeling well?"

Ladybug pushed herself up and flipped over, oblivious for the moment to the akuma that had started toward them. She carefully pushed a lock of hair behind her ear in an exaggerated way, and smiled rather goofily at Chat. "Hey, kitty!" she said. "Fancy meeting you here!" She turned toward the akuma. "Oh," she said giddly. "Were you having fun without me?" Ladybug turned back and tapped a finger on his chest, once per syllable. "Bad. Kitty."

Chat frowned, and glanced at the akuma. Without saying anything, he wrapped an arm around his partner and leapt away to the side of the pond. Dropping his normal Chat persona, he held her by the shoulders and looked into her blue eyes. "LB, what's going on?"

"What do you mean what's going on? I'm here to fight the akuma. Which SOMEBODY is stopping me from doing!" Spinning to face the akuma, she turned and started marching towards it. "What have you done with all the pretty flowers?" she asked the guy with the chainsaw.

Chat pulled her back to him. "What is going on today? There is something wrong with the flowers in the park."

Ladybug just smiled at him. "Oh Chat. Where's your sense of fun? It's springtime, and the flowers are beautiful! Now let's go get this guy. The akuma's in his badge." She pointed to the park employee's pin attached to his flannel shirt.

"How do you know that?" Normally Chat wouldn't have questioned her, but Ladybug was acting as if she were drunk.

"Do you see how every time he cuts something with his chainsaw, everything gets covered in sawdust?" She paused to ruffle his hair, sending a cascade of sawdust to the ground. "But no matter how dirty the rest of him gets, the badge stays shiny. I think he's one of the park arborists. He likes the trees. He doesn't like to take naps in the flowers like I do!" For a minute there, Ladybug had appeared to be her normal self, but then the giddiness slid back into her voice and mannerisms.

Shaking herself and trying to focus, Ladybug said, "I'm going to need help on this one Chat. Something about the flowers is making me lose my focus. I just want to roll around in them."

Chat shook his head. "I don't want you to get hurt. Maybe you should stay back here and let me take care of this akuma."

It was Ladybug's turn to shake her head, initially in disagreement, but then to clear it. "No. We're partners. We're in this together. Besides, I don't want you getting hurt. We wouldn't want anything to mess up that pretty face of yours." She booped his nose as she said this. "It's as pretty as a tulip."

Chat froze. That was the second time that day he'd been compared to a flower, by someone acting oddly under the effects of something. His mind ran over the possibility, but pushed it away, and by the time he'd blinked, and gone to respond to Ladybug, he realized that she'd walked around him and was already talking to the akuma.

"Hey!" Ladybug shouted to Mister Saw. "It's a real tree-gedy for you to be cutting down everything you see! I know you saw what I did there with the pun! I know it is usually Chat Noir's area, but I just couldn't leaf it alone."

The akuma swung his saw in her direction, but she was able to dodge it with no problem, dancing ever closer to the akuma. Soon enough, Ladybug was inside of his reach with the chainsaw, and she snatched the badge off his chest. Using her yo-yo to swing herself away, she threw the badge to Chat so that he could release the akuma. Bending the flimsy metal, it broke, easily, and the purple butterfly floated out. As she was cleansing the akuma, both of them realized that she hadn't used her lucky charm. Shrugging, she threw her yo-yo up in the air, saying her catchphrase, and luckily it worked, the little red beetles cleansing the city, putting back the trees, and regrowing all the plants.

Chat Noir held his fist out for their traditional congratulatory fist bump, but Ladybug threw her arms around him, hugging him tight, instead. Disentangling himself, Chat went over to talk to the victim, checking to see if he needed any help. He was, indeed, an arborist for the park, and was mad that some of the tulips looked like someone had been rolling around in them.

When he went back to Ladybug, and told her what had happened that someone had trampled the lilies, she looked guilty and said, "I'm sorry, Kitty. I think that might have been me. There is something about Ladybugs and Spring, and I just want to rub the flowers all over myself." Grinning up at him, she said, "Besides, they were tulips, not lilies, silly kitty!"

Chat narrowed his masked wide green cat eyes at his partner. "Tulips," he repeated.

"Tulips," Ladybug confirmed, happy that Chat had understood the importance on this one point. "As in 'tiptoe through the.'" She laughed. "You'd get that reference, wouldn't you? Since you love old movies and all."

"I… do…" Chat said thoughtfully. Carefully, he wrapped an arm around his partner. "Let's get back to your sketchbook, shall we?" he asked, wondering if his presumption was correct.

"Great idea!" she said. "I'll do action sketches of you! Would you flex for me?" she added slyly, running a finger along his bicep.

"I thought you wanted me to blend in with the park patrons," Chat said, raising a masked eyebrow as they picked their way across the park. "Hence the hoodie."

"Oh, right," she said confidentially. "We need to blend in."

Chat smiled warmly. "One of us is definitely blended," he laughed, wondering when the penny would finally drop for his partner.

It happened when she spied her sketchbook. Dropping down beside it, she picked up her pencil and then seemed to notice for the first time she was still in costume as Ladybug. She looked back up at Chat, a mixture of confused expressions on her face, before the flush of realization appeared on her cheeks. "Oh. Oh, no…" she said quietly.

Leaping up to Chat, she shook him by the shoulders. "You have to forget this!" she said desperately, the she frantically started to look around the field. "I'll just run over there and-"

"Ladybug, stop," Chat said gently. "It's all right. Let me get you home and away from these flowers."

"Do you think that's best? My parents-"

"We'll be careful," Chat said, pressing a kiss to her lips to calm her down. "I've got this."

"Okay," Ladybug said, but she didn't sound convinced.

Chat quickly packed away all of Marinette's supplies and took her back into his arms, leaping back into the sky with his partner who had gently started to snore in his embrace. He smiled at that and made his way back across Paris to the rooftop patio of the Bakery.

Ever so gently, he set her down on the chaise lounge and then perched on his upturned flower pot, keeping watch. The final rays of sunshine were dipping below the horizon when Ladybug finally stirred. "Milady?" he asked quietly. "Feeling better?"

She sat up a bit and frowned her masked eyes. "Other than the pounding in my head, I think so," she answered, rubbing her forehead with a gloved hand. "How long-?"

"A few hours," he replied.

Ladybug held out her arms, noting again that she was still transformed. "It wasn't a bad dream, then," she said, more a statement than a question.

"Bad dream?" Chat smiled. "No. In fact, it was the answer to all of my dreams."

That brought a smile to his partner's face. "Of course you'd see it that way, kitty," she laughed. "I had no idea Spring would affect me so strangely."

"I find more and more cat in me each day," Chat replied. "I suspect the same thing is happening to you, bugaboo. It likely made you highly sensitive to plant pollen."

She smiled again. "So. Now you know my secret."

His smile grew wider. "Yes," he answered. "Though I'm not surprised. The two of you were really the same person. I was a pretty slow kitty not to see that."

She nodded. "Yes," she laughed. "But I may have also tried to keep you off balance, too."

"That you did."

"I'm sorry for that," she said. "After getting to know you better, I realized just how sincere your feelings were-are!-for me. I was happy to have been able to salvage some of that with our Marinette-Chat romance."

Chat frowned. "That sounds awfully like it will be past tense."

"No," Ladybug replied. "We're just going into new territory." She smiled a bit lopsided. "Out with it, then."

He acted as if he'd misunderstood her. "Sorry? Out with what?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh no. No way, Chat. Spill it."

"I believe you've told me repeatedly how important it is for us to keep our secret identities secret," he said, his green eyes looking rather mischievous. "I believe-oof!"

Moving quickly, Ladybug whipped out her yo-yo and looped it around Chat, tugging on it to both tighten the bands and to drag him toward her. His eyes widened in surprise as he found himself immobilized just a few centimeters from her beautiful face. "Now, as I was saying…" she began.

"Milady, violence is not the pathway to enlightenment," Chat said, still smiling despite his position.

"I hate for it to come to this," she said dramatically. "But you leave me no option."

Carefully, she reached into the bag and retrieved one of the Belgian chocolate croissants. Exaggerating every move, she slowly started to munch.

He let her get through two complete pastries before his traitor of a stomach rumbled. Loudly. He sighed. "As you wish, Milady," he said.

Ladybug flipped the yo-yo and retracted the bands, dropping Chat to the tile roof. Typically, he managed to land on all fours, allowing him to spring up onto her chaise with her. Coiling himself up around his partner, he leaned around to one ear and whispered: "One hint per croissant," he asked, laughing.

She smacked him in the ribs. "No deal."

"Okay," he said, sliding to her other ear. "Let's just say… I sit in front of you every day."

Ladybug twisted around. "Wha-"

"Seriously, I can't believe you didn't see the likeness," he laughed. "Blonde hair. Green eyes." He twisted his head into profile. "Stunning good looks…" He paused. "Although I think I'm cuter with cat ears…"

"Adrien?!"

He nodded. "In the fur, Marinette."

She leaned back into his chest. "Wow."

"I know, right?" he laughed. "Now that is out of the way… can I please have a croissant?"

Ladybug held out the bag to him, laughing when he realized that it was empty. "Tikki, spots off!" She said, laughing at her kitty over her shoulder as she headed down to her room. "Don't worry, I'll get you more." Smiling, she beckoned to him to follow her down the stairs, laughing at just how quickly he did.


	20. Pranks

_Twenty: Pranks_

_Author's Note: Epcot97 here. Sadly, we are still no closer to owning the rights to Miraculous than we were nineteen days ago. This is another chapter we wrote together for #MariChatMay2019, allowing us to release our inner teen pranksters for the May 20 edition. _

_And now, more Great Moments with ChubbyUnicornMama and Epcot97:_

_CM: I think Chat needs to start on Pranks._

_Ep: (pouts) You want him as partner instead of me? And we were getting along so well…_

_CM: No! I mean Chat *starts* the Pranks._

_Ep: …unless you think I'm Chat! That would be cool, right? I'd SO be out of this office-_

_CM: (geez Louise) ANYway, we're gonna keep it under 4K, right? I just saw Cold Night and it's a novel._

_Ep: Sorry. I CAN be concise._

_CM: I have my doubts._

_CM: Turns out, I was right…._

**Chat Noir**

It started innocently enough, but kwami almighty, I had no idea how far out of hand everything would get.

One random Saturday, I found myself lounging atop the slanted tile roof of the Musee des Monuments Francais, enjoying the expansive view of the Trocadero Gardens and the Eiffel Tower beyond in the warm midafternoon sun. My costume was soaking up the gentle heat and I'd found myself lightly dozing off a few times. Between school and several late night akuma attacks, it had been a brutal week, so I was making the most of the relative quiet.

The Gardens were relatively busy, but comfortably so. Despite my drowsy eyes, I'd still been keeping tabs on the population below on the off-chance Chat Noir would need to spring into action. That was why I noticed Marinette entering the plaza from the Metro stop, and purposefully making her way to the lower set of steps in the Garden proper, somewhat in front of my perch.

I squinted slightly and could see she had her sketchpad and art kit with her; my masked eyes followed her progress as she took a seat on a step that overlooked the plaza, facing the tower and the Gardens. There was a bit of a drop between the level of the she was sitting on and the terrace below it, and my eyes fell upon the flock of pigeons that had taken up station.

In my defense, I was a sleep-deprived teenager who was coming off an all nighter saving Paris. But in that moment, the sly part of my Chat persona saw an opportunity (allergies not withstanding) and the sensible part of my brain threw up its hands and curled into the fetal position. Before I had a chance to fully consider the ramifications of my potential actions, I had vaulted off the rooftop and dropped into a crouch; as stealthily as a black cat could be in broad daylight, I crept along a side wall, keeping it between me and Marinette's sight line. It didn't appear to be strictly necessary, though. Once she started sketching, the world outside of her subject was invisible to her.

I arrived at the far edge of the terrace just below Marinette. The flock had grown substantially, augmented perhaps by the patrons tossing breadcrumbs by the pound. I dropped closer to the ground, remaining on all fours, and narrowed my masked green eyes. I may have even wiggled my tail in anticipation.

I took a deep breath and then smoothly leapt directly into the middle of the flock.

Birds scattered to the air in a flurry of movement, sending feathers in all directions and patrons running for cover. The sound alone of all of those panicked wings moving was extraordinary; I sat there, beneath the chaos, quite pleased with myself until my gaze fell upon Marinette.

She was covered in pigeon feathers, her art supplies scattered around her by the fleeing patrons. My self-satisfied smile faltered when I saw what was left of her sketchbook – which was to say, not much. Scarier, perhaps, was the look she was training on me, for it spoke of retribution writ large. As if on the same wavelength, my body was seized by a violent wave of sneezing.

It felt like a good time for a tactical retreat.

**Marinette**

It. Was. On. If my sketchbook containing my newest design hadn't been destroyed, I would have laughed my head off as Chat ran off, sneezing. But it was destroyed, and he was going to pay.

A week later I was almost ready to admit defeat. Almost. I didn't realize how hard it was going to be to prank a superhero, who's real name I don't know, and have no idea how to get hold of. I had considered and rejected dozens of plans, all of which involved Chat Noir being in a certain place at a certain time. That wasn't going to work. I needed something else. I was flipping through my phone for that picture Alya and I had taken in the art room last week. It was really cute, and I wanted to use it for her new contact photo, and I came across that picture of Chat wrapped up in several balls of yarn that I took as blackmail for unwinding my yarn AGAIN. I realized that I didn't need to find Chat. I could send it to Alya for the Ladyblog.

I carefully weighed the pros and cons of putting a picture like that out there for everyone to see, and, other than embarrassment, realized it wasn't going to actually hurt Chat in any way. I anonymously sent the picture to the Ladyblog, cropping it in such a way that only a very few people (Chat and Alya, and maybe my parents, if they read the blog) would recognize the picture as having been taken in my room. Within an hour of it having been posted, the picture had gone viral. Chat had told me (or at least Ladybug) that he read it frequently to keep tabs on what people were saying about us.

An hour later I knew Chat Noir had seen the Ladyblog when I heard the thump on my roof and knock on my skylight. I called for him to come in, and I saw him drop, feet first through the skylight, without looking. He dropped from my bed to the floor, and practically growled out my name, "Marinette!"

**Chat Noir**

My order had finally arrived, and I was unpacking my apology gift for Marinette at my desk in my bedroom. I'd spent the last week avoiding her, more out of self preservation motives than anything else, but knew I needed to face the music and apologize. I'd hoped the brand new sketchbook and replacement art supplies would help pave the way for me.

As I opened the box, my email chimed on the computer, and my eyes flicked up to see a new post had arrived on the Ladyblog. I made no secret of the fact that both Adrien and Chat Noir were frequent readers of Alya's journalistic efforts – partially to keep a paw on the pulse of how Paris felt about us, but more, perhaps for any hints of who Ladybug actually was.

The email was like a new cat toy, and I dropped what I was doing to click the link. A moment later, my jaw had hit the desk, for there, in full high-definition, was the photo Marinette had promised me she'd deleted. Oh, I knew the photo appeared to have come from an anonymous source, but while Marinette had carefully cropped out the wider components of her bedroom, it was obvious she had made the next move in what was becoming a bit of a battle of wills.

My green eyes flicked to the sketchbook, then back to the photo. This called for a response.

If only I had something like that photo, I thought, twirling in my chair.

I'd made three revolutions before leaping out and grabbing my phone from the charging dock. Frantically, I scanned the voicemails and found exactly what I'd hoped – it was a message from Marinette, one that she thought she had deleted from my phone but had instead simply been moved to the recycle bin. I'd come across it accidentally and had saved it, trying to decide how best to deal with her frank admission for how she felt about Adrien. In fact, it was that very message that had prompted me, as Chat Noir, to start visiting her.

I put the phone down. "Plagg – claws out!" I said, and the somewhat evil grin I had been wearing maintained state through the transformation. Sliding my normal cell phone into my costume pocket, I vaulted out the window and hurled myself toward the Bakery, formulating my plan on the way.

By the time I dropped to the Bakery's rooftop patio with soft thump, I thought I'd cooked up an appropriate response. I trotted to the skylight and knocked, and barely waited for Marinette to call me in before throwing open the door and dropping straight through the opening to the bed underneath, then rolled off the bed into a four-point pounce-crouch on the bedroom floor. "Marinette," I growled, snarling ever so slightly.

To her credit, Marinette stood her ground, even after I moved toward her with a deliberate slowness. "I thought that photo was between the two of us," I said, my voice hovering in the "dangerous" register.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Chat," she said, though her slightly inflamed cheeks spoke volumes.

"Right," I said, definitely growling this time. "I've kept plenty of your confidences, Princess," I said, unzipping my costume pocket and pulling out the phone. "But I guess I don't need to any longer."

Her eyes widened. "What's that?"

"Adrien Agreste's cell phone," I said, tossing it to her. "It seems you have suddenly come into possession of it," I added, leaping back up to the bed.

She nabbed it out of the air in a smooth move, but held it like it was radioactive.

"I'd love to be there when you explain to him how you came to have it," I said, "but sadly, I'll be otherwise occupied."

"How did you get this?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Would you believe I just happened to find it lying around?" I grinned, knowing she wouldn't believe the truth. "Anyway, it doesn't have a passcode on it… and there is a very, very interesting voicemail from you that I feel as though you really don't want him to hear."

"What!?" she spluttered. "I erased that-" she paused, seeing my smile. "It didn't get deleted, did it?"

"Nope," I said. "And it looks like someone may have listened to it." I turned to exit, then turned back. "In case you're wondering, I have a backup copy of that message. Just in case you manage to delete it this time around."

I pulled myself up and out, then popped my head in upside down. "Your move, Princess."

Her look of horror was mixed with a determination that, if I'd been thinking straight, would have shot fear into my heart. But instead I took the temporary victory and leapt into the night.

**Marinette**

How did that voicemail not get deleted? I missed the unveiling of my statue, and inadvertently caused Theo to get akumatized, because I wasn't there to keep Chat Noir under control. And where was I? Stealing Adrien Agreste's phone for the sole purpose of deleting that email. It had been deleted. So if Chat knew about it, I was sure Adrien did, unless Chat also had a habit of stealing cute boys cell phones. Which he apparently did. But mine wasn't a habit. It was just one time. And now, I had it again. Last time I had returned it by slipping it into his bag, but I doubted I would get that opportunity again. I could just drop it somewhere at school, but Chat had told me that it was unlocked, and I didn't know if there was something on it that Adrien didn't want people to see. He did have some very rabid fans, after all. I could return it to him as Ladybug… but what if Adrien had let Chat borrow his phone. If Chat knew about the voicemail, then they had to be friends of some sort, right? That would just scream "Marinette is Ladybug." No. I had to think. How did I get the phone in the first place? TIKKI! She unlocked his locker so I could take it out. "Tikki" I asked, hesitantly. "Would you be willing to break into Adrien's locker so I can replace his phone?"

"I could do that, Marinette, but what if Chat asks how you got it into his locker? What would you say?" Tikki replied.

Sighing, I realized I would have to do it the old-fashioned way. I called Alya. "Hey Alya. So I have come into possession of Adrien's phone again, because I think he heard the voicemail where I called him hot stuff. I have really truly deleted it this time, but I can't face him to give him his phone back. If I give it to you, can you give it to him and tell him you found it?"

"Girl, girl, girl. What am I going to do with you? Sure. I'll give it back to him. IF you're early enough to school tomorrow!"

"Oh, I will be! Thanks, Alya! You're the best!"

"Before you go. Do I even want to know how you ended up with his phone in the first place?" Alya asked. "Scratch that. I definitely want to know."

I sighed. "So, you know that anonymous picture that was put on the Ladyblog earlier today?"

She laughed. "The one taken in your room? Yeah, I was fairly certain I knew who put that up. I need deets. Why was Chat Noir tangled up in yarn in your room?"

"Well, I think I may have found myself in the middle of a prank war with Chat Noir." I proceeded to fill her in on everything that had gone down. His occasional visits, when he was having a rough day, to the Great Pigeon Prank, and how that picture was the only way I could think of to get him back. Then I told her about the phone, and what had gone down tonight.

"I am so in. Whatever you need, just let me know." Alya practically crowed with excitement.

"Well, I have an idea for my next prank, but I'm going to need my parents permission, your little sisters' wading pool, and some help moving furniture."

The next day went off without a hitch. I made it to school, even before Alya, and handed her off the phone. She immediately opened it and flipped through it. "Dang! How many photos of Ladybug does this boy have on his phone?!"

I peeked over her shoulder, blushing slightly. "Almost as many as you!"

She laughed. "You could be right. Now tell me about this plan of yours."

I filled her in on the details, having asked my parents permission that morning. She said that If I came over after school, we could grab her sisters' pool, and she'd come over and help with whatever I needed.

We headed off to our first class of the day. Adrien came in, a small smirk on his face, and looked straight at me. I could feel the blush creeping up my face, but before he could say anything, Alya said, "Yo, Adrien! I found your phone in the locker room. You need to be more careful! What if one of your crazy fangirls had found it?" With that, she held his phone out to him. Watching him out the corner of my eye, his shoulders seemed to sag slightly. With relief? Maybe, but his reaction seemed a little off, even as he profusely thanked Alya, promising to be more careful in the future.

Arriving at my house after school, I unlocked my skylight, but then moved my bed out from underneath it. I would miss getting to go up there for a few days, but it was definitely worth the sacrifice. Underneath the opening, we set up the wading pool, filling it half way with water. And now, we just had to wait. If it was like after his last prank, Chat Noir was going to avoid me for a while, so I had Alya approve another message for the Ladyblog. It simply read 'Chat Noir. Wool you forgive me." I figured it would be innocuous enough to not draw a ton of attention, but, especially with the pun, it would bring my kitty over.

When Alya approved the message for me, she sent me a single line text. 'Project Drainpipe is a go."

Sure enough, a couple of hours later, I heard the telltale thump on my roof. I'd turned off all the lights, except for the one over my desk, which was in the furthest corner of my room. Chat rarely checked where he was landing anymore, he'd entered so often, and I was counting on that fact when I heard the knock at my trapdoor. I called for him to come in, standing, and trying to look contrite, as he opened up the skylight and dropped in boots first. Only instead of landing on my bed, he dropped to the floor, landing with a splash in the middle of the pool. Laughing at his shocked and slightly bedraggled appearance, I held out the towel I had brought in for just such an occasion.

He snatched it out of my hand, which was good, because by this point I was doubled over laughing. He growled at me, and looked back at the wading pool, but I pulled my dress off to reveal my bathing suit, to show him that I was prepared for any kind of instant retaliation he might have in mind.

To my surprise, his eyes went wide, and he blushed slightly, turning away. It was then that I realized I had just stripped in front of one of the biggest flirts in all of Paris.

**Chat Noir**

I have to admit, Ladybug had been after me since almost the beginning of our time as Miraculous holders to look before I leapt. And yet, there I was, soaked through-and-through after having landed in what appeared to be a kiddie wading pool, right where her bed normally would have been. Marinette had started laughing even before the wave of water had retreated around me, and I rather violently snatched away the pink bath towel she handed me.

Thinking quickly, I nearly started to shake my blonde mane in an attempt to spread the liquid love a bit, but then I froze: Marinette had suddenly shucked off her dress.

In. Front. Of. Me. In. Her. Bedroom.

My masked green eyes widened enough I thought they would outgrow the mask, and my cheeks flamed. Contrary to my persona, this was not the outcome I would have desired at this particular moment; at a loss for words, I turned away from her, shook my mane out, and mopped up the last of the water from my costume. It didn't matter that she was wearing a swimsuit; the intimacy of the moment had me thoroughly flustered and left me punless.

But not without an idea for my next move.

I tossed the towel down and leapt directly up and out of her bedroom, and started back toward the mansion, thinking through my plan. I was reasonably certain she'd had help this time out, but besides Marinette, Chat had no other friends other than Ladybug. And I was reasonably certain she would frown on my extracurricular activities and decline to assist in any way. So that meant I had to be able to pull off whatever it was that I did solo.

As I landed on my bedroom windowsill, it dawned on me that I did have one other friend who'd be willing to help out. That brought a sly Chat smile to my face as I dropped into my bedroom and trotted over to the bathroom and the enormous walk-in closet it contained. After a few minutes, I was able to locate the wigs I'd been forced to wear during a Victorian-esque photo shoot a few months earlier for an unusual summer line Father had created. They were identical and the exact shade of blonde as my real hair… and expensive.

I quickly started to shred them with my claws and cogitated on my next steps.

The next morning, I entered the classroom and took my customary seat next to Nino. Marinette hadn't arrived yet – which was not unusual – but Alya was already in place. Trying to stay in character, I frowned to Nino as I pulled out my textbooks and heaved a huge sigh.

"What's up, Adrien?" he asked. "You look miserable, dude."

"I have a photo shoot this afternoon," I sighed heavily again, laying it on thick. "It's my least favorite of the year – swimsuits."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alya perk up.

I could feel the red flush creeping up my neck. Not, perhaps, due to the mental image I was sure Alya was cooking up, but more to the lie I was weaving. I'm not very good at it, so I quickly got the rest out. "They've got the pool booked at four this afternoon. And of all things, Father has let them keep the observation gallery open. Something about trying to garner social media traffic." I rolled my eyes. "Like I need that."

"Dude—" Nino started. "Are you saying it's open to the public?"

"Yeah."

Marinette walked in at that moment, a fraction ahead of our teacher. I smiled at her like I normally did; she'd been looking at me funny since Alya had returned my phone, making me wonder if she'd taken the other bait and now assumed I knew about the voicemail. That could be handy later.

After school, as I started toward the exit and my waiting sedan, I passed by Alya and Marinette.

"Yes, girl," Alya was saying as I approached. "It's open to the public."

"Adrien? Will be there?" Marinette was gasping for breath. "In… in a…"

"Swimsuit, yes," I finished for her as I came up behind them.

Marinette whirled on me, face crimson. "Uh, ah."

I shrugged. "Might as well go," I said as I started out the door. "Get your photos before anyone else does."

Gorilla returned me to the mansion, and I dashed to my bedroom and transformed to Chat Noir. I retrieved a Santa Claus-sized duffel bag I'd hidden in my closet with everything I needed and bounded out the bathroom window and into the early afternoon sky. The bag threw off some of my usual grace in the air, but I still managed to get to a rooftop overlooking the Bakery nearly close to the time I assumed Marinette would depart for the pool – assuming Alya had talked her into it.

Keeping below the edge of the roof, I waited. Not five minutes later, I heard the door to the residence open, and the cheery voices of Alya and Marinette as they headed for the Metro. Cagily, I'd known the pool was far enough away they'd have to take public transportation to get there. Once I was sure the coast was clear, I vaulted across to the rooftop patio and hesitated at the skylight.

I'd never entered her bedroom without her permission, and knew I was crossing a line. I tried to convince myself it was appropriate, but pangs of guilt were already chewing away at my heart. Steeling my resolve, I opened the skylight and dropped onto the bed, which was now conveniently back in place.

I rolled off the bed and gently dropped to the floor, carefully putting my duffel down. Unzipping it, I retrieved the shower curtain I'd borrowed from a guest bathroom at the mansion, and carefully unfolded it on top of her bed. (I wasn't completely insane.)

Next, I withdrew a massive ball of fur; technically, it was what was left of the two wigs I'd shredded. It had been a long night of wrapping bits and pieces around the Styrofoam planet Jupiter I'd used in a science project last year, gluing them randomly until it genuinely looked like an overgrown tribble. I placed this in the center of the shower curtain, then retrieved five bottles of corn syrup I had similarly borrowed from the mansion's kitchen.

Opening the first one, I slowly drizzled the syrup over the fur ball, completely coating it. The second one made it look even more disgusting; by the third, I'd created something that I might have personally hacked up, were I capable of creating a hairball as Chat Noir. I used the fourth bottle to add to the tiny puddle of awfulness that was surrounding my masterpiece, and saved the fifth for later.

The final pièce de résistance came out of the bag: a small packet of tuna fish. Carefully, I used a claw to nick the bag and drizzle the liquid all over the fur ball. Within a few moments, the wonderous aroma of fish filled her room, and despite the trouble I was sure I was getting into, I found myself smiling.

Clicking open the baton, I saw I was just about out of time, if they had arrived at the pool and found it locked about when I suspected they had. I tidied up and zipped the duffel closed, and leapt back up through the skylight.

I wasn't a moment too soon. As I gently closed the skylight, I heard Marinette as she opened her trap-door to the bedroom. I leapt up to the railing, preparatory to leaving, but hovered to see if I could hear her reaction.

"—weird that it was cancelled," she was saying.

"It happens," Alya said, trying to mollify her friend. "Adrien has said the photographer…." She trailed off. "Girl, do you smell something?"

"I do," Marinette said. "It smells like… tuna…"

There was a pause.

"CHAT NOIR!" she yelled, and I heard her starting up the ladder. "IF YOU ARE UP THERE—"

I fell over the railing and vaulted away into the evening.

**Marinette**

I ran downstairs to grab one of our heavy-duty bakery trash bags, and headed back upstairs. Alya had opened all the windows in my bedroom, and had the trapdoor firmly shut. Once we bundled the plastic tarp full of all of that nastiness up (was that really hair?!) and taken it outside to the bins, the air quality in my room started to improve.

Whatever my retribution was going to be, it would have to wait, since right now, Chat would be anticipating me making a move. I would give it at least 2 weeks. I had a brilliant idea, but I had some research to do.

That weekend down at the market, I picked up a small bush with beautiful purple flowers. I tucked it away in my room, making sure it got the right amount of water and sunlight. The blooms were a pale lavender color, and the leaves flat mint-like leaves.

Over the ensuing weeks, I talked to Chat as Ladybug. Right after he pulled the giant hairball prank, he seemed very jumpy, so I made him tell me what was wrong, and he admitted, rather shamefacedly, about his prank war with Marinette. I laughed at all of their pranks, and he admitted that he was worried what she would pull on him.

Three weeks had passed since the last prank, and Chat was missing his friend Marinette (or so he told Ladybug). I advised him to swing by her house, just to talk, and if she was truly angry, he could apologize, but she didn't seem like the kind of girl to hold a grudge.

He said that he would think about it, and so I put my plan into motion. I went home and baked a tray of cookies. Plating them up and putting them on my balcony with a fan blowing over them, a trick that had brought a kitty to my balcony before.

In the end, it took three days before I heard the thump of feet on my roof. He came in, hesitantly, looking where his feet were landing before he dropped, but with the plate of cookies in his hand. "You'll forgive me for asking you to taste test these, won't you?" He asked, his trademark smirk appearing.

Grinning, I grabbed a cookie from the plate and took a large bite. "If you don't want to eat them, I don't mind eating them for you. But I do hope you saw a doctor about that little hairball problem you had!"

"Does it look like I have a shedding problem" He asked, running a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. Dropping his hand, he reached out and grabbed a cookie, nibbling tentatively at the edge. He stopped when a faint scent reached his nose, and he sniffed the cookie. All he could smell was vanilla, sugar and chocolate. It was when he pulled the cookie away from his face that he could smell that same faint smell. He inhaled deeply to see if he could recognize it, and then he realized his mistake. Catnip. I watched the emotions play across his face, and the moment that he realized what I had done. He gave an accusatory look at the cookie, but ate the whole thing anyway, and reached for a second, still glaring at the plate.

"There's nothing wrong with the cookies" I laughed and pointed to the catnip plant in the corner of my room. He looked at the plant and back at me, his pupils dilated and a slightly wild look in his eyes. Shoving another cookie in his mouth, he dove for the plant, putting his face right into it and inhaling deeply. He knocked the pot over, dumping the dirt all over my bedroom floor, then flopped on top of it and rolled around. He popped up once to grab another cookie, but otherwise didn't stop until the whole plant had been crushed. Rolling off the catnip bush and up to his feet, Chat turned his attention to me. Those deep green eyes were staring at me now, and Chat stalked his way across the room towards me, on two feet rather than four. As he passed by the plate, he snagged another cookie. He downed it in one gulp, much in the way that Plagg will eat cheese.

As he approached, I could hear the deep rumble coming from his chest. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if his purr could be heard down in the bakery. As he got close to where I was sitting on my chaise, he put his face right up in mine, and started rubbing it against me. His purr grew louder as he rubbed his cheek against my face and my arms, and even my knees. When I started to scratch his head between his kitty ears, his eyes rolled up into his head and he dropped to the floor, his purring becoming even more intense.

After maybe a minute of petting, he jumped up and leaped for my bed. He landed on the ladder, and immediately sprang for my desk chair. Landing solidly on that, sending it spinning across the room, he leapt again, this time landing in my knitting WIP bag, claws sinking into the yarn, then knocking it across the floor, pouncing on it and rolling, until he was completely tangled up.

He looked up at me, looking slightly lost, when I heard the sound that made me realize my prank had gone too far. Chat's ring started beeping. My heart dropped, and I did everything I could to sober Chat up, rolling up the catnip bush into one of our bakery trash bags, and throwing it out on the balcony, trying to get Chat to drink water, anything I could think of, however, his ring continued its relentless countdown. With less than two minutes to go, Chat curled into a ball on my bed, and fell asleep. I admit that I started panicking, so I threw a blanket over him, and avoided the bed like the plague. By the time I saw the flash of green light that meant he had turned back into his civilian self, I was feeling terribly guilty.

The prank war, while fun, had definitely gone further than it was supposed to. And I was the one who had taken it there. There were soft snores coming from my bed, and then I heard a familiar voice. "Hi Plagg. Would you like some cheese?" I asked the adorable black kwami that came floating down over the side of the bed.

"I sure would. Or some of that cheesy bread you make, I'm not picky." Plagg responded. "The kid is going to have an awful headache when he wakes up, would you bring him something for that, and a large glass of juice?"

I ran downstairs to grab what was needed, and headed back up to my room. When I opened the trapdoor, the first thing that I saw was Adrien sitting up in my bed, and Plagg underneath it, with Tikki. I placed the food down for Plagg and just stared at Adrien, wondering how on earth he'd got into my room, let alone my bed. And then it clicked. Blonde hair, green eyes, there were so many similarities, I had no idea how I'd never seen it before. "Adrien?" I breathed, "You're Chat Noir?"

His eyes snapped to me, struggling to focus, then he looked down at himself. He looked back to me, a look of horror on his face when he realized what had happened. "Oh no. Marinette, I'm so sorry. Oh no. You cannot tell anyone, especially Alya."

I laughed, "Don't worry. I think Alya understands the need for superheroes to keep their identities a secret. But you. This whole time YOU have been Chat Noir?"

He looked down at me, and I waved the ibuprofen and juice at him. "Want to come down and talk about it?" He headed down the ladder, and slumped on my chaise, his head hanging, his hands threaded into his hair. "Ladybug is going to kill me when I tell her about this."

I stroked his head, around where his extra ears should be. "No she won't, Kitty, not when it's all her fault."

His head snapped up at that, and the expression on his face said that he wished he hadn't moved quite so quickly. "How is any of this Ladybug's fault?"

"Because she can't back down from a challenge." I replied, gesturing to where Plagg and Tikki were playing Candyland. "Just ask Plagg."

"Plagg? How do you…" Adrien trailed off as he looked over at his kwami, and the little red kwami sitting next to him. They both waved. "Is that…?"

I smiled as I answered him, "That's Tikki. She's my kwami. And I am so very sorry. I took the pranking way too far."

Adrien was still stuck, staring at Tikki and then back at me. "Why do you have…." He looked back at me. "Bugaboo?"

I sighed. "How many times have I asked you not to call me that, Kitty?"

He didn't say anything else, but stepped forwards and wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him back, and mused out loud, "I guess this explains how you got Adrien to help you with so many of your pranks!"

Chuckling, he just held me tighter. "I guess I deserved this for starting a prank war with Ladybug. No wonder you thought it was so funny when I told you all about it. And then advised me to trust you."

"I am sorry, Chat… Adrien."

He pulled back and smiled down at me. "How can I complain when it allowed me to learn that one of my best friends is also my partner. This is the best prank ever."

"Thank you." I whispered, snuggling my head into his chest.

It wasn't long before Adrien announced that he needed to go home, to sleep off the effects of the catnip. Plagg complained that he was just about to beat Tikki, who in turn laughed and asked him which of them was good luck? In my ear, Adrien whispered , "Right now, I think it's me."

I beamed up at him, and, for the first time, got to watch him become Chat Noir. We walked up to the balcony together, and before he headed for home, I reached up and kissed his cheek. He turned around, pulled me to him in a swift, but crushing hug, and I felt him kiss the top of my head. With a smile I watched him bound away across the rooftops, turning to wave one last time before he disappeared from sight.


	21. Cold Night

_Twenty-One: Cold Night_

_Author's Note: Epcot97 here. I had no idea that ChubbyUnicornMama would fall for the catnip cookie trick, but since she's now sleeping off the effects, that leaves me to write the entry for May 21's entry for #MariChatMay2019. Marinette is helping her parents cater a huge event at Le Grande Hotel Paris and, being Marinette, accidentally lands herself in a truckload of trouble. Fortunately, Chat is on the job, too._

_CM: Catnip doesn't work quite the same way on humans. Trust me, I researched it for that last prank. You just make terrible cookies, so I left!_

The longer I was Chat Noir, the more I started to feel like the enhanced abilities I enjoyed while transformed were bleeding into my civilian, non-transformed self. I'd asked Plagg about the possibilities in that regard, and he'd been characteristically cryptic, but not without adding that the bonus time I'd been spending as Chat Noir in order to hang out with Marinette might be a cause for concern.

I'd laughed at him – he'd long ago confirmed that I could remain transformed indefinitely so long as I didn't use Cataclysm – but later that same day, I'd started to worry a bit. For it was the first time I found that I could detect Marinette's signature scent (vanilla, sugar, exotic spices) halfway across the schoolyard… as Adrien.

And then, the following day, I was finding myself able to eavesdrop on what my classmates were saying. In the back row. As the day wore on, I started to use my Chat techniques to stay focused on the teacher, slightly scared about what seemed to be happening to me. But not quite scared enough to ask Ladybug about it; Chat Noir had a reputation for self confidence that would take a bit of a battering if I had to admit I was struggling a bit with my powers.

Against this backdrop, I found myself dutifully attending a conference that weekend as one of several representatives for House of Gabriel. My sole role was to be Adrien Agreste, smiling and allowing photos to be taken of whatever I was told to wear; to be honest, I had no idea what the point of the meeting was other than they all seemed to be fabulously wealthy and loved to eat.

During a break in the proceedings, I escaped from the dais where I'd been stationed and followed my enhanced feline sense of smell to what I knew I would find in the kitchen: Belgian Chocolate filled croissants, and Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng, who had landed the catering contract for the event. Adrien was a familiar face at the Bakery, although not nearly as familiar as Chat Noir, who was a nearly nightly presence. They greeted me warmly.

"Adrien!" Sabine hugged me, at least, as best as she could without smearing flour on my rather expensive sportscoat. "Marinette said you'd be here." She winked at me. "How are you holding up?"

"Not well," I admitted. "This is one of my least favorite activities as a model." My eyes fell on the platter of carefully arranged croissants.

I must have looked desperate for Sabine laughed and handed me one on a small hors d'oeuvre plate. "Eat up, young man," she smiled. "You're way too thin as it is."

I shrugged and said around a mouthful, "It's part of the gig." Although, to be honest, my metabolism had become cranked after taking on the Cat Miraculous. "Thanks, Madame." I scanned the kitchen. "Is Marinette with you?"

"Yes," she said, then spun slowly. "At least, she's here somewhere."

"She went for supplies," we heard Tom say. He was in the cold room.

"I'll stop back," I said, knowing I had to get back to my post. "Let her know I was looking for her?"

"Of course, dear," Sabine said, returning to her task.

The afternoon dragged on, and by seventeen-hundred, I was bored out of my mind and still had six hours to go. It would have been easier if I'd been allowed my phone, but that had been deemed unseemly and taken from me when I'd arrived. As we broke to change into our dinner attire, I caught Nathalie and asked for it back.

Coldly glaring at me, she fished it out of her briefcase and handed it to me. "You'll give this back before dinner," she said.

"Of course, Nathalie," I replied, plastering my Adrien smile on my face while wishing she would develop a run in her stockings and have to leave for the night.

I turned my phone on and my eyes immediately shot wide open. I had twenty-one missed calls from Marinette. A queasy feeling hit my gut, and I started a purposeful walk toward the kitchen while flipping to my voicemail. She hadn't left any; I tried to redial her, but it went straight to her voicemail.

Growing concerned, I burst into the kitchen on the run. Sabine was still there, putting the finishing touches on a massive three-layer cake. "Marinette!" I called, hurriedly working my way around the prep counters. "Are you here? Marinette?"

"What's wrong, dear?" Sabine said, icing bag in one hand and quizzical expression on her face.

"I've got a gadzillion missed calls from her," I said. "Where is she?"

Sabine dropped her bag. "Oh my God," she said. "I've not seen her since lunch. I thought she was with Tom." She started for the rear of the kitchen. "Tom! Is Marinette with you?"

Tom backed out of a closet. "No, dear," he said. "I sent her to you."

"When?" I asked, that queasy feeling going to full-on ulcer.

"Lunch?" Tom said, helplessly looking to his wife. "I lost track of her…"

"Where was she last?" I pressed, channeling a bit of Chat.

Tom pointed to a counter behind me. I turned, and saw her pink polka-dotted purse carefully situated next to a now-melting container of ice cream. Several small dishes of melted ice cream were on one side; a dozen empty ones on the other. "What was she supposed to be doing?"

"Getting dessert ready for the lunch buffet," Sabine said. "I think she ran out of whipped cream and had gone to get more."

"From the refrigerator?" I started toward the massive steel door, horrific visions of a chilled Marinette dancing in my mind.

"No," Tom said. "We had those supplies delivered just for the event."

My feline sense of smell told me Marinette was no longer on site. But I couldn't very well run around sniffing for her as Adrien. "Let me see if I can locate her," I said to her parents, trying to sound like it was not as worrisome as I thought it was. "I'll find her!"

Without waiting for a response, I left the kitchen at a trot and redirected to the first unlocked closet I could find. Barring myself inside, Plagg floated up. "Should I be worried?" I asked.

"Don't ask me," he said. "But it if you did, I'd tell you Chat Noir would have a better chance at making sure nothing bad has happened."

"Plagg – claws out!"

The green transformation wave had barely washed over me before I was bursting out of the closet and bounding down the hallway on all fours toward the kitchen, crashing through the double doors with a bit more speed than might have been necessary. Sabine looked quasi surprised, and then raised an eyebrow; not only had I appeared as Chat within a few moments of Adrien's departure, I'd re-entered from the same door he'd left. It might have been prudent to have arrived from another angle – any other angle, for that matter – but my worry over Marinette's disappearance was overriding other concerns; I couldn't worry about that now.

"Madame," I said, as I sniffed the air legitimately this time. I followed the traces of Marinette out to the loading dock, where they ended in the empty space. "Merde," I said beneath my breath.

Tom had joined me. "What was the last delivery?" I asked in the fading light of the early evening.

"Chilled goods from our dairy vendor, Cold Night," he said. "Around noon." He looked at me, concern written in lines on his face.

Five hours. She's been gone fur five hours.

That ulcer had turned into a full stomach-churning ache, and I had a reasonably good sense of what might have happened to her. I pulled out my baton and clicked into phone mode. Marinette was on speed dial and I tried her number; it went straight to voicemail again. I turned to Tom, who'd raised an eyebrow when he'd seen my contact list on the baton. I ignored it. "Where would the delivery truck have gone after the hotel?"

He pulled out his phone. "I don't know, but I know who to ask," he said, dialing his vendor. Tom waited expectantly and then frowned. "They've already closed for the day!"

I turned and looked out into the service alley again. If they were closed, there's a reasonable chance that the trucks all went back to the distribution center. And since Marinette hasn't turned up, it's a better than average chance this truck went straight back.

"Where is the warehouse?" I asked Tom.

"Uh…" he punched up something on his phone. "We changed last month to a new one, they are just barely in the city. New guy, low prices on base goods we use," he muttered, adding, "but I'm gonna change back to Jacques after this." He scrolled, then turned his phone to me. "Here's the address!"

My masked eyes widened – he wasn't kitten. The warehouse was on the outer fringes of Paris, a good forty minute drive by car from where I stood. City rooftops were only going to get me so far.

"I'm going for her," I said, snapping the baton shut and extended it for helicopter mode. "I'll call when I find her."

I didn't wait for a response before leaping into the air and helicoptering to the first roof. Faster than I thought possible, I crossed rooftops, bounded alleys and vaulted over late weekend evening Parisian traffic. All I could think about was getting to Marinette, my original horrific vision of her stuck in the fridge replaced by a now-popsicle version of her, huddled in a darkened delivery truck. Alone.

Catching my breath on the final rooftop before crossing into a more industrial area of the city, I popped the baton into phone mode again. Marinette was still not answering. I snapped it shut and shoved it into the small of my back, launched myself from the roof and landed in a tuck-and-roll on the wide pavement of an empty accessway, rolled out and started pounding the pavement as fast as my feline form would move. If the address was accurate, I still had about ten kilometers before I was in the ballpark of where the warehouse was located.

Fortunately, the my Miraculous blessed me with the ability to run as fast as fast as my namesake for as long as I needed to; I was nowhere near a world record pace, though, as I kept having to slow down in order to take my bearings. Close to 2000, I trotted to stop in front of a standard industrial fence not unlike what I'd been passing for the last several kilometers. This one happened to have the logo of the distributer I was seeking – Cold Night – and I wasted no time vaulting up and over the fence, landing in a three-point crouch.

My heart dropped at what was in front of me.

Rows and rows of delivery trucks were lined up along both sides of the warehouse; I could see close to sixty from where I was crouched, and realized there were likely more on the far side of the building, too. Tom hadn't meowtioned they were also one of the largest dairy distributers in Paris. I needed a plan.

I cat-leapt my way across the wide paved lot and stopped at the bumper of the first vehicle, searching for any way to make sense of how the trucks had been arranged. Ladybug Luck was on my side: based on the directional signs on the closed doors, I could clearly see this side of the warehouse was for retail. I'd need commercial or restaurant.

I took a guess and leapt forward about halfway along the dock; it was still retail, so I leapt again and found general food service was next. I assumed that would be similar to schools and hospitals and continued around the horseshoe; by the seventh landing, I'd located commercial. Pulling out my baton, I started banging on the trucks as I passed them, straining my feline ears for anything. "Princess! Princess! Can you hear me?!" I yelled as loud as I could. "I'm here!"

It was fully dark now, and the green-yellow night vision I had made the space seem eerie. So much so that I nearly jumped out of my fur when I finally heard a response on the thirteenth truck I tried.

"Chat?" I heard. It was so faint, I'd nearly tried to squeeze my feline ear through the metal rolltop door in an effort to hear her.

"I'm here, Princess!" I yelled. "I'm going to get you out of there."

I stood back. There was a handle at the bumper that twisted upward to open the door, but it had been secured with a padlock. I tried to pry it off with my claws, then attempted the brute force maneuver, but I couldn't remove it. Punching the metal only dented it; ripping the door from its hinges didn't get me very far, either. This thing was built like a tank. Clearly they didn't want their dairy being stolen.

I tried to ignore the irony of a cat breaking into the modern equivalent of a milk truck, and focused on my final option.

"Cataclysm!" I cried, raising my ring hand. The power of destruction flowed into my fingertips, and I just went for it, dragging them across the entire back half of the truck. I watched as the panel turned brown and crumpled into a pile of ashen dust. A puff of cold air accompanied it, blowing back my feline ears.

I leapt onto the truck, my night vision quickly scanning the space and finding a tiny figure curled up beside crates of whipped cream. She was shaking hard, and frost was gracing her smooth skin.

I hurled crates out my way, creating an impromptu aisle and dropped to my knees beside her. Marinette's lips were blue, and her skin was cold to the touch. "Mon Cherie," I whispered as I wrapped my body around hers. "I've got you now. I've got you."

She was shivering so badly from the cold that she inadvertently drove her head into my chin; but I didn't care. I'd found her. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

I scooped her up and leapt from the back of the truck to the pavement outside, the warm air pressing itself against me as I gently landed. Instead of releasing her, though, I held her tighter, trying desperately to warm her up. My ring chirped the five-minute warning, and I ignored it, gently rocking her.

I adjusted my grasp slightly and retrieved my baton, snapped it open to phone mode one handed and dialed the emergency number. When the dispatcher picked up, I was to the point: "This is Chat Noir. I need medical assistance for a teenage female, showing signs of hypothermia." I gave them the address and assured them I would make Marinette comfortable while we waited.

"Need… need to… transform…?" Marinette tried to ask between chattering teeth when the three-minute chirp hit.

"I've got a few minutes," I said, unsure if I'd ever discussed the finer points of being a Miraculous holder with her during one of my nocturnal visits.

"Go…"

"I'm not leaving you, Princess."

She started to struggle out of my embrace. "Not… not… the right time…" she was saying. "I'll wait here…"

"Then close your eyes," I said simply. "I'll recharge as quickly as I can. But I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"Ch—ch—Chat!" she shivered.

"Hush," I said, burying my head in her hair, "and close your eyes."

She did just as my ring chirped its final warning. The green de-transformation wave washed over me and Plagg silently floated up. I caught his eye and fished two pieces of Camembert out of the sportscoat I was wearing. He ate them faster than I've ever seen him do before and then nodded.

"Plagg – claws out," I said as quietly as I could.

The wave receded a second time in as many minutes and I was again holding Marinette in my black-cladded arms. "Okay," I said. "You can open them again…" I started before realizing she was gently snoring in my embrace.

I held her close and listened to the approaching sirens.

I sat, cat style, on the hard plastic chair in the hospital room and waited patiently for Marinette to awaken. Her parents had already stopped in, and were down in the cafeteria getting something to eat. I'd refused to leave her side, even growling at one point when the paramedics had tried to keep me out of the ambulance.

I was deathly tired, both physically and emotionally, but had managed to fend off Morpheus with a near constant cup of coffee in a paw, provided by a compassionate nurse who'd taken one look at my determined expression and decided it would be wiser to humor me than to run me out of the room.

As the sun started to peek through the window, Marinette's eyes fluttered open. I launched out of the chair, sending it clattering, and was immediately by her side, holding her hand as she tried to sit up. "Easy, Princess," I said.

"Chat?" She looked sleepy. "How long…?"

"Six or seven hours," I said. "Your parents are here – they're out in the lounge. I'll get them."

I started to turn and she caught me by the bicep.

"Princess?"

"How did you know where to look?"

I moved closer. "Once I realized what had happened to you, it was just a matter of getting to you." I waited a beat, searching her deep blue eyes. "How did you exactly come to be trapped in the back of a dairy truck?"

She squeezed my paw and pulled me in closer. "It was stupid, you know," she said, burying her head in my chest.

"Ladybug could probably tell you a thousand times that I'd looked before leaping," I laughed, running my claw through her hair, "so fear not: no judging from this cat."

I felt her chuckle against my chest. "I'm sure," she said. "I'd gone out to the dock to get the last crate of whipped cream for the dessert trays, and the driver wasn't there. I was impatient—"

"You, Purrincess? I find that hard to believe."

"You said no judging!"

"Sorry."

"—so I went into the truck myself. I'd just located the crate when the driver came back and closed the door on me."

"Didn't he hear you? You must have banged on the door or something?"

"I did, but clearly he didn't. I felt the truck moving and just assumed I'd get out at his next delivery point – except he didn't stop anywhere else."

"Yeah," I said. "I figured that out too."

"I tried to call my friend, Adrien, but my phone kept dropping the signal; the cold sapped my battery anyway."

"Why didn't you call your parents?"

"They leave their phones at home when they're on the job."

"Ah," I said, flashing on Nathalie and understanding that completely. "Well, it's a good thing you called Adrien. He was worried enough to, uh, manage to get a message to me."

I felt her head twist up at me. "He did?"

"Yeah."

"How on Earth—"

"Hush," I said, not wanting to delve too much further into how Chat had appeared on the scene. I was already going to have a hard enough time explaining to Nathalie where I'd disappeared to. I hopped up onto the bed and wriggled my way behind her, letting her lean against me. "It's over now. Rest. We can talk more once we get you home."

She started to argue with me, but thought better of it and snuggled in; soon, I felt her breathing become slow and regular as she drifted off to sleep.

Tom and Sabine poked their heads back in and saw Marinette had drifted back off to sleep.. "I'd like to stay until she wakes up," I asked, "if you don't mind?"

"Of course," Tom said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Stay as long as you like."

"And thank you, Chat," Sabine said, placing a kiss between my feline ears. "You've done good."

"I wish I'd done better," I frowned. "If only—"

"You did what you could as soon as you could," Tom said. "Don't go down the 'what if' road."

"Thanks," I said, although I was still beating up myself for not realizing Marinette was in trouble sooner.

They smiled again at me and left, and I hugged Marinette just a little bit more, aware of how close I'd come to loosing someone very precious to me. I had no intention of leaving her alone anytime soon.

I settled in to keep watch over my Princess.


	22. Sick

_Twenty-Two: Sick_

_Author's Note: Epcot97 here. ChubbyUnicornMama is away writing copy for a series of "Just Say No To Catnip" ads, allowing me the opportunity to handle the May 21st prompt for #MariChatMay2019. As we might have mentioned earlier, neither of us owns Miraculous; well, actually, I own a lot of Miraculous (action figures, DVDs, etc.) but not the show itself._

_Chat has a problem: he's run himself a bit ragged, between school and his work with Ladybug. So much so he's managed to catch a cold… and lose his voice… so perhaps Marinette might have a remedy?_

"Miraculous Ladybug!" she cried, and I watched as those beautiful red helpers of hers burst into life and swept through the city, correcting the damage our latest akuma had wrought. This was one of the few times I'd not had to use my Cataclysm for her, and I was quite thankful for that – I appeared to have picked up a cold, and my voice was on the fritz.

My partner stepped over to me and held out her fist. "Pound it!" we both said, though mine came out a bit strained.

Ladybug looked at me. "Are you feeling all right, Chat?" she asked.

"Yes," I rasped. "Never better."

She raised a masked eyebrow. "Right," she said, stepping closer and putting a gloved hand to my forehead. "You're running a fever, Chat."

"I'm always running a fever when I'm with you, Milady," I croaked, trying to smile.

Ladybug frowned. "Get home and go to bed."

I nodded – it was easier at this point – and leapt off the rooftop we were on and helicoptered toward the mansion. I really didn't feel badly, just a little warm perhaps; enough that I knew I was fighting something but not serious enough to keep me from my duties as Chat. Or so I thought.

Vaulting over the fence and through my bedroom window, I landed with a rubbery thump next to my couch and stood. "Plagg—" I tried to say, then stopped to try and clear my throat. "Plagg – claws in!"

No green wave appeared as nothing came out from my voice. Not even a hoarse whisper.

"Plagg – claws in!" I tried again, but my voice had finally quit.

This was a bit of a problem.

Though I'd ever explicitly asked Plagg about it, all of our Miraculous magic worked around specific words and phrases. Though I was definitely thinking the phrase "Plagg – claws in!" I now had empirical evidence the de-transformation couldn't be triggered without verbally uttering the phrase. I'd had good reason to be concerned earlier about not being able to call up my Cataclysm.

I started for the bedroom door, thinking some hot tea might be in order; seeing my claws reaching for the handle, though, reminded me that might be a bad idea. Chat really couldn't saunter into the kitchen at the Agreste Mansion at (I checked the baton) one-thirty in the morning. My paw dropped from the door, and I turned back toward my bed, where I sat dejectedly. I had no idea how long this might last, and having Nathalie find Chat Noir fast asleep in Adrien's bed in a few hours would likely create another whole set of problems.

The baton was still in my hand and I switched to data mode. I punched up one of those medical reference sites on the web; after some searching, and discovering I had some vague hypochondriac tendencies, I finally found an entry on Laryngitis. And was not impressed to see it could last up to three weeks.

I quickly flipped through some of the home remedies, immediately knowing that Chat would not be able to land in an emergency room for any of the medications they were recommending, and saw that aside from resting my voice (duh!), plenty of fluids and gargling with warm salt water would possibly alleviate some of the symptoms. (I chose to ignore the advice to avoid caffeine.)

I flopped back on the bed. While there could be worse things than staying transformed as Chat for three weeks, I knew Adrien would be quickly missed. I'd need to figure out some way to de-transform. Too bad I didn't have any salt on hand in my bedroom…

I sat up. I might not have any, but I knew someone who would.

A moment later, I was sailing out through the dark night once more, headed for the Bakery. I knew it was late – really, really late – and hoped Marinette wouldn't be too terribly cross with me. The lights on the rooftop patio had been extinguished for the evening, but my night vision let me drop down carefully on the tile with a soft thump. I trotted over to the skylight and scratched it several times, using the signal we'd come up with during one of my first unscheduled appearances months ago.

I waited, and a sleepy-eyed Marinette propped the door up. "Chat?" she said, eyes widening. "What's up?"

I started to say something, and when nothing but squeaks came out, I pointed to my throat, pointed to my ring, and then frowned. I wasn't entirely sure if she would follow my logic, but to my surprise, she nodded.

"You can't de-transform, can you?"

I nodded vigorously.

"It's completely gone? Your voice?" she asked as she pulled herself up on the balcony. Like Ladybug, she pressed a hand to my face. "You are running a fever. Have you taken anything?"

I shook my head, and snapped open my baton to show her what I had found on the web, using a claw to underscore the home remedies.

"Yeah, that might work," she said thoughtfully. "Come inside and I'll pull some stuff together for you."

I followed her through the skylight and down into her bedroom, and before I knew what was happening, found myself on her chaise, wrapped in a blanket and sporting a thermometer. As warm as I already felt, the blanket wasn't really necessary, but there wasn't much I could do to point that out. She reappeared from the kitchen below with a tray; a steaming cup of tea sat beside a small container of salt. She had a small thermos in her other hand.

"Sip this, gently," she said, removing the thermometer and handing me the mug. My claws made a clickity-clink noise on the ceramic as I took it from her. It was chamomile, one of my favorites, and she'd added a touch of raspberry and (if my feline sense of taste wasn't mistaken) hibiscus, some honey and fresh squeezed lemon. After the first few sips, the raw feeling of my throat faded a bit.

Marinette was tsk-tsking as she read the thermometer. "Thirty-nine Celsius," she said. "You should really be in bed, Chat."

I shrugged.

"I've brought you salt, and I've pre-mixed a salt-and-hot water concoction for you to use when you get home." She smiled. "I'm going to assume you can't go to your own kitchen for hot water or salt at the moment," she laughed, "so this might be enough to get you to a point where you can transform back to your alter-ego."

I smiled and nodded.

"You are, of course, welcome to catnap here for a bit if you like," she said, "but it is almost three. I don't know about you, but I need to get to school in a few hours and you are likely to be missed."

As the tea had started to warm my soul and trigger cat impulses to curl up under cozy blanket, it was a compelling thought to nod off there on the chaise. I'd not had this much personal attention since my last photo shoot, and that was only because the makeup artist was having trouble with my hair. I sighed, knowing Marinette was correct – I needed to get home and hope I could successfully become Adrien again.

I pulled back the blanket after draining the last of my tea, stood, and bowed to Marinette in my traditional manner. She giggled when I kissed her hand. "Anytime, Chat," she answered to my unspoken gratitude.

Taking the salt and the thermos, I exited via the skylight and returned to the mansion. Once safely back in my bedroom, I trotted to the bathroom and poured a slug of the steaming salt mixture into the thermos's built in cup. My feline nose wrinkled a bit at the odor – there was enough salt in the concoction to serve as my annual dose, were I to drink it.

I toasted my image in the mirror, ignoring the tired look my Chat eyes seemed to have taken on, and commenced the first round of gargling. After the third round, I'd convinced myself I'd never use salt on anything, ever again.

I rinsed out the awful salt flat that had become my mouth, and stood back from the sink.

Moment of truth, I thought.

"Plagg – claws in!" I managed to rasp out. It was faint, but appeared to have done the trick, for the green wave of transformation enveloped me, and a moment later, I was staring at an equally tired (and flush-faced) Adrien. Back in my civilian form, I could easily see now that I was under the weather.

Plagg floated up. "Get some rest, kid," he said. "And keep that thermos handy."

I nodded, deciding to save my voice. Knowing Hawkmoth, this would just be about the time he'd throw something at us. A day in bed might not hurt; I changed into my pajamas and slid between the blissfully cool sheets, but wound up not being able to sleep at all. By the time Nathalie arrived to roust me for school, I'd thrown the sodden mass off and was shivering against my pillow.

"I think you'll stay home today," she said. "Do you want anything? Food?"

I shook my head.

"Call if you do," she said. "I'll send for the doctor."

I passed in and out of slumber for the next few hours. I'm pretty sure my doctor came and went, and at one point I sat up enough to take some Tylenol, but the rest was a bit of a haze. Somewhere in the late afternoon, I returned to the here-and-now and realized I had a visitor at my bedside.

Actually, I smelled her before I saw her; vanilla, sugar, exotic spices. I smiled before I opened my eyes. "Princess," I said in a hoarse voice, turning to her. "Come to check up on your—"

Her shocked expression halted me mid-sentence – about the time the rest of my brain clicked into gear and remembered where – and who – I currently was. One side effect of being Chat Noir was that my enhanced feline senses were manifesting themselves in my civilian form. A factoid that would have been nice to have remembered about ten seconds earlier.

"Ah," I whispered. My voice was back, but not completely. "This is awkward."

"Adrien," Marinette said, attempting to ignore what she had heard. "I stopped by after school when I heard you were under the weather." She pointed to a stack of notebooks on my desk. "I wasn't sure if you'd be up to working on our project today, but I'll admit, I also wanted to see if you were okay."

I looked at her deep blue eyes, full of worry and concern – and something else. "We should talk about this," I said.

"No," she replied, firmly. "We don't."

"You've already connected the dots," I pointed out. "I can see it in your eyes." I tried to laugh, but it came out like a wheezing, well, cat. "The odds that both Chat Noir and Adrien would be sick at the same time…"

She sighed. "Are astronomical," she agreed. "So we are talking about this, then."

"Plagg – claws out!" I said suddenly, and she sat back in surprise as the green transformation glow washed over me. "Yes," I said, sitting there as Chat Noir, "we are."

"You foolish, foolish kitty," she said, but she was smiling. "It's your fault, really, for stopping by last night. When you weren't at school this morning, it was too much of a coincidence." She looked at me for a moment. "And there have been other little signs, too. I'd just chosen to ignore them."

"I hope this doesn't change how you feel about me," I croaked. So much for the dulcet tones of Chat Noir. "I mean, it's been me the entire time…"

She reached up and put a hand to my face, frowning slightly at the heat still radiating from beneath the mask. "No, kitty," she said softly, "it doesn't."

I smiled, but not just at her response. I'd also heard a particular endearment only one other person used for me. This was turning into a rather extraordinary cold…


	23. Pillows and Blankets

_Day 23: Pillows and Blankets: _**_In which Chat Noir is a low-down, no-good THIEF._**

_This story was definitely a joint effort. Unfortunately, neither of us could get Chat to behave himself. Although we did get some ideas of how to go and snatch the rights to Miraculous away from Astruc and Co., but until we put our plans into motion, we still don't own Miraculous._

_Ep: Hey, CM, what do I do with all of this fabric that was just delivered? _

_CM: I can't answer that. This story is rated for kids. _

It was a rainy Friday night in Paris. A traditional movie night for Marinette and Chat Noir. This particular evening they were curled up on Marinette's bed, watching a movie snuggled under her blanket. Chat, who, it turned out, was a classic movie buff had chosen that week's movie, _Roman Holiday_, a story about a princess pretending to be a regular person.

As they were getting more into the movie, Marinette felt a cool breeze across her neck which distracted her enough to look away from the screen. Realizing that she was cold, she went to pull the blanket tighter around her shoulders. Not finding anything around her, she looked over to Chat, who had the entire blanket cocooned around himself. With a frustrated huff, she started pulling at the blanket, and her hand came in contact with the side of Chat's neck. He screeched and jerked away. "Princess! Your hands are fureezing!"

She laughed humorlessly, "Yeah, well some poopyhead stole all the blankets."

Looking down, Chat realized just how tightly he was gripping the blanket around him, and unwrapped it enough for her to snuggle into him. He wrapped both the blanket and his arm around her, pulling her close to him, letting his body heat warm her up as well as the blanket. Marinette gripped the blanket in front of her, and Chat carefully rubbed her arm with his gloved hand, the friction warming her as much as the blanket. Feeling warmer, she melted into his side, her head resting on his shoulder, and her eyes drifting shut. It wasn't much longer before Marinette was asleep, snoring softly.

When the movie was over, Chat carefully lay Marinette down on her pillow, setting her tablet down where it would come to no harm, and pulled the blanket up to her chin. Chat had been invited to stay the night by Marinette's parents any time he needed to, and his father was out of town, so nobody would miss him at home, since he'd texted Nathalie that he was staying with a friend. He stroked a lock of hair off of Marinette's face with one claw, and lay down on the pillow next to her. He always felt more relaxed in her presence, and tonight was no exception. Breathing in her scent, a combination of shampoo, the bakery, and something uniquely Marinette, he closed his eyes and curled up next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her flush against him.

Two hours later, Marinette woke up, shivering, to find that, once again, Chat Noir, hero of Paris, was nothing more than a common blanket thief. He had wrapped the blanket so completely around himself that all she could see was a shock of blonde hair and two black ears. She reached up and stroked the tips of those ears, making Chat jerk away from her, and his eyes fly open. "Cold." She stated, "Share the blanket."

"Of course, Purrincess," he said gallantly, once more unwinding the blanket and wrapping it around the both of them, as he snuggled her close to him. Soon enough, however, Marinette's eyes popped open once more, teeth chattering, to find her partner had become a kitty burrito. He'd taken the extra precaution of rolling slightly sideways, though the edge of the blanket was slightly visible in the low light.

Adjusting her position on the bed, she grasped the edges of the blanket and yanked, hard, sending a flurry of black-cladded limbs rolling over the edge of the bed. Being Chat, he flipped in midair and landed on all fours on her bedroom floor, but his masked green eyes had narrowed, searching for the villain that had rousted him so violently.

Calmly, Marinette shook out the blanket and wrapped herself in it. "There's another blanket down there, if you need it," she said, yawning, as she settled back into the pillows. "Though I can't understand why, with a costume like that." She rolled over, well aware that Chat was calculating something as he crouched below her.

Chat watched Marinette settle in, wheels turning. Slowly, he skulked back up the ladder to her bed, and without comment, coiled himself around her. As she drifted back off to sleep, she snuggled back into his embrace, enjoying the warmth he was, indeed, radiating. He remained awake, however, and once he was sure she had nodded off completely, he shifted slightly so he could free up an arm, waited another beat, and then gently traced a claw tip along her nose.

Marinette stirred and he froze; she muttered something and then started to snore.

Slowly, he traced her nose again, finally seeing it twitch. Blindly, she released her grasp on the blanket to try and fend off the annoyance; he waited, holding his breath, as she repositioned once more, then traced his claw, gently, one last time along her nose.

This time, both hands released the blanket and waved at whatever had been flitting around her nose. With lightning fast cat reflexes, he slid the blanket out from beneath her and in the same swift motion, rolled his feline form back off the bed, dropping to the floor of the bedroom. The movement woke Marinette. "Chat!" she said accusingly; he tried hard not to laugh.

"This one smells better," he said, scampering as far from the bed as he could. Chat rolled the blanket around his body and curled up into tiny cat ball. "Night," he said, his voice muffled by the fabric. "Pawlesent dreams."

Marinette glared at the wisp of visible blond hair and those insanely cute ears, and shivered. This would not do. She grabbed the cat-shaped pillow behind her and heaved it at Chat, smiling as it made a direct hit and bounced off his head. "Give it back!" she cried.

Chat attempted to ignore her, but she could see an ear swiveling in her direction. Loud snores issued from the depths of the blanket, but they did not fool Marinette. She cast about and hauled out the pillow she'd added to the bed for Chat, and hurled it at him. This one was heavier but still found its target, and slid off his mane. One feline ear had flattened as a result and the other was wilting. She chuckled. "Give it back," she said again, laying some Ladybug into the command.

Slowly, Chat pulled the blanket down from his face, and her eyes widened as she saw in the gloom those slightly glowing green eyes of his were narrowed - the same way they got when he was ranging a target out in the wild. For an awful moment, she felt like prey being stalked; Marinette grabbed her one remaining pillow and held it to her chest in a poor modicum of protection.

Chat flipped out of the blanket and into his pounce-crouch, tugged the ends around his collar, cape-like, and then lowered himself to the floor. With a meowr-like growl, he launched himself at her bed and landed on the mattress, blanket flailing behind him.

On hands and knees, Super Chaton stalked towards the head of the bed, while Marinette pulled her pillow protectively over her head, expecting the rain of blows which came down upon her head. As he was distracted by hitting her with his pillow, Marinette snuck her hand underneath and snatched at the hem of the blanket. Unfortunately, Chat had tied it around his neck, so he was yanked backwards onto his back on the bed. Marinette pressed her advantage by pouncing on him, and smacking him with the pillow in her hands.

By this point, both of them were laughing and shushing each other, so as not to wake up Marinette's parents. Chat rolled them both so that he was the one on top, and, after smacking her with the pillow a few times, leaped over the side of the bed to land in the middle of Marinette's rug. Marinette followed him down, choosing the more conventional ladder route. When she was halfway down the ladder, Marinette pushed off, her arms outstretched to bring the pillow down on Chat's head.

The two crashed together in a pile on the floor, giggling to each other, still trying to slap at each other with pillows. Chat was faster, being a superhero, but Marinette could hold her own, being much more devious-minded than Chat expected. They rolled around, smacking at each other and leaping off of furniture, doing their best to keep the laughter and the thumps of impact as quiet as possible.

Once they had subsided, giggling, into a tangle of limbs on the floor of Marinette's room, both teens were wide awake, and neither were cold anymore. Regardless, Marinette ran downstairs, and brought up every spare blanket in the Dupain-Cheng house. She also brought up two bottles of water and some croissants, which the pair devoured whilst draping the blankets over the edge of the bed, the chaise and the desk chair, creating a comfortable little blanket fort. Marinette padded the floor of the fort with additional blankets and pillows, making sure they each got their own blanket, and the two snuggled together to sleep in the little nest that they had made.

It was almost morning when Marinette woke up, once again, to find Chat wrapped up, not only in his own blanket, but the one she had been using, too. While they had been surrounded by spare blankets, that kitty had stolen hers again while she slept. Shivering, she narrowed her eyes and considered carefully her next move.

There was a tiny part of her - the part not annoyed with his blanket stealing - that found the move somewhat endearing, and that brought a bit of a smile to her face. But there would have to be retribution of some kind for this transgression, especially given the plethora of fabric surrounding them. She looked at her partner; well, technically, all she could see were those ears of his, he'd so completely submerged himself below the blankets.

Those ears...

Carefully, she scooted out from their blanket-and-pillow fort and snuck over to her sewing supplies. Super-quietly, she located a darning needle, and what was left of a skein of fuchsia yarn, mindful that even asleep Chat might hear her movements. She unspooled the skein slightly and snipped off a length which she tied to the end of the needle, then snuck back into the fort and curled herself up against her kitty burrito.

Chat stirred slightly and wriggled closer to her instinctively. Marinette used that to her advantage, wrapping an arm and both legs around Chat. Then she leaned in a bit, and gently lifted the needle with its payload over what was visible of his blond mane, carefully teasing the end of one ear with the yarn. The ear twitched, and she pulled back; then she moved in closer, and repeated the movement with the other ear.

This time, the ear flattened. She pulled back again, waiting for it to pop back up, then lightly dusted the other ear once more with the yarn. It twitched, violently, and Chat started to try and move away from the irritation.

Except he couldn't. As wrapped up as he was in the blanket, and with her embrace, he wasn't able to move more than a few centimeters. Grinning maniacally, Marinette started teasing one ear, and then the other; even with him flattening them completely, she could tell the light touch of the yarn was driving him to distraction. That, and his ineffective squirming to get away from her.

She leaned closer and whispered into one of the feline ears. "Ready to give up?" she asked.

There was some sort of muffled response followed by a vigorous nod.

Despite the assent, she made one final pass over the ears before rolling off Chat. For his part, he burst out of the blankets with a wild look in his eyes, landing in his patented crouch facing her. "That was just mean," he said, breathing harder than she would have expected. His ears were still twitching, and he scratched at the, frantically, trying to soothe the tickle.

Marinette pulled back the blanket that had been hers. "We apparently needed a remedial lesson in boundaries," she said, "or at the very least, blanket etiquette."

"I'm a cat, Princess. We gravitate toward warmth."

"You can't very well gravitate towards warmth if you keep stealing it!" Marinette complained, putting her cold hands on the back of his neck, causing him to screech and pull away.

"Your hands are cold!" He cried.

"Well whose fault is that?" Marinette replied, leaning in to place her hands against his cheeks, one of the few parts of his body where she could actually touch skin.

It was at that point, Chat decided to make a strategic retreat, saying that he needed to head home, so that nobody missed him when they came to wake him up. She shook her head at him and started plotting for his next visit.

The next Friday rolled around, finding Chat Noir, once again, arriving on Marinette's balcony for movie night. This time it was Marinette's choice. She'd picked an odd movie based off a comic book called _Tank Girl_, about a girl and her human/animal hybrid friends trying to save the world from a madman. Before the movie, Marinette presented Chat with a black and green bundle of fabric, tied with a green ribbon. When he untied it, he found that it unrolled into a full length black sleeping bag lined with green fleece. Marinette held up her pink and white matching one.

Chat grinned, hugging his sleeping bag to his chest, before throwing his arms around Marinette. "Thank you so much, Princess! This is so nice! I can't believe you made this for me!"

"You're welcome, Kitty. I'm glad you like it."

After the movie, where Chat, once again, had to tuck a sleeping Marinette into bed, he lay down next to her, snuggled up in his new sleeping bag.

A few hours later, Marinette woke up, her movements feeling very constricted, but feeling very cozy indeed. She tried to turn, to unwind her sleeping bag from around her body, only to find a certain black cat had climbed into her bag with her. Sighing, Marinette rested her head back down against his chest, listening to his heartbeat and the faint rumble of his purr.

What was she going to do with him?


	24. Nap Lap

_Twenty-Four: Nap Lap_

_Author's Note: Epcot97 here – I think. At this point, the keyboard is starting to blur a bit, but ChubbyUnicornMama assures me I'm definitely writing the May 24th chapter for #MariChatMay2019. Just between you and me, though, I think she's off at a day spa resting her hands._

_ANYway, while I've recently added some new goodies to my Miraculous toy collection, it wasn't enough for either of us to buy our way into any form of ownership of these characters._

_Chat is a busy guy – with his massive course load at school, a fulltime job as a model for his father, and – right! – that superhero gig, life is starting to catch up to him. Enough that he winds up in a bit of a situation while visiting Marinette._

_CM: Holy Moly! This is under 1,000 words. Ep, are you feeling ok?_

_We wanted to say something to our Guest reviewer who called us geeks… Thank you! We're so glad you noticed!_

I was walking through the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, happily smelling my way across the displays.

Except the Bakery was bigger than it was supposed to be, stretching almost to infinity in all directions. It didn't seem to matter to the smiling Sabine behind the counter, and for some reason, it wasn't bothering me either. I smiled and continued examining the extensive collection of Belgian Chocolate—

"Chat!"

That sounded like Marinette. I did a slow three-sixty but she wasn't anywhere in the vicinity. My masked green eyes narrowed; something was wrong. I started trotting down the aisles, calling her name. "Marinette? Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Chat – wake up!"

That was weird. I knew most definitely I wasn't sleeping. There had to be some sort of akuma attack going on; I began to run. "Marinette! I'm coming!"

"Chat! Chat!"

My masked eyes snapped open, and something was wrong with the balcony. It was one hundred and eighty degrees wrong. I blinked, and realized with a bit of shock it had more to do with the position of my head… which appeared to be on a very soft, vanilla-sugar-spice scented lap.

I snapped upright, feeling the red flame of embarrassment shooting up my neck and onto the parts of my face the mask didn't cover. Memory crashed back: I'd dropped in on Marinette after Ladybug and I had fought back Baristazista, an over-caffeinated akuma that had nearly managed to defeat us. Modelling for Father, maintaining straight-As at school and nightly fighting off of Hawkmoth had taken more of a toll on me than I'd realized, and my reaction time was suffering as a result. Ladybug had saved me – well, us – and then sent me off with a stern admonition to get some rest.

Which of course meant I went straight to Marinette's, although oddly, it had taken me a lot longer than normal, as tired as I had been. I was reasonably certain we had been eating pastries and drinking tea (a quick glance at the small plate beside my leg confirmed some of that), and though I remembered sitting beside Marinette's chaise, I had no recollection of, uh, well, winding up on Marinette.

"Princess!" I said hastily, as I quickly leapt up to my normal spot on the upturned planter. "I'm sorry…!" I blurted. "I must have dozed off! I-"

"Chat, it's fine," she said, smiling. "You've been napping for, like, an hour."

"What! An hour?!" I fairly screamed, my face radiating like the sun now. "I am so so so so very sorry—"

"It's okay," she repeated. "You were nodding off mid-sentence anyway, and when you collapsed, I just let it happen. I only got worried when…" she trailed off, bemused.

My masked eyes widened. "When what?"

"Well," she said, "you started calling my name, and your, uh, paws started clawing the air rather frantically. I assumed you were having a nightmare."

Not as much as this reality was turning out to be. "Yeah," I said, "it was something like that."

She pointed to a tear in the chaise's cushion. "I was also fearing for my furniture."

"Ouch," I said. "I can help you fix that."

"Don't worry about it," she said. "Go home, Chat," she said. "You really look like you could use some rest."

"You're the second person to say that to me today," I laughed tiredly. "Thanks for the food," I said as I stepped off the planter to stand upright. "And the nap."

"You're welcome," she smiled. "Come back anytime – for the food, of course," she added. "I don't want any other cats to get ideas. I'm not a halfway house, after all."

I chuckled as I leapt to the railing. "I don't want the competition, either, Purrincess," I said as I vaulted into the night.

The last thing I saw was a rather pleased smirk on Marinette's face.


	25. PussInBoots

_Twenty-Five: Puss In Boots_

_Author's Note: As ChubbyUnicornMama and I went through our final list of chapters for #MariChatMay2019, we discovered this chapter for May 25th hadn't been claimed. We flipped a coin and I lost, so you're now stuck with me for another five thousand words._

_CM: Only 5k? I'll believe it when I see it._

_Since we are nearing the end of the month, I've decided to take a page from own work and cast the time spell from the Miraculous Grimoire so CM and I can be part of the team that created Miraculous. If it works, I can be hired to correct any other problems in your own timeline. (CM: Better send us back in time far enough so we can learn French…)_

_I also discovered I had an excuse to revisit our adult versions of Chat and Marinette many months after they started to share that apartment facing the Eiffel Tower. It's their second Christmas together, but not quite – Chat is alone, as Marinette is on one of her first business trips as part of her new career._

It was snowing in Paris on Christmas Eve.

I stood on the balcony outside my suite at the apartment and watched the large flakes lethargically fall from the sky, thick as anything I'd seen in years. Strictly speaking, I didn't need to stand there as Chat Noir, as Marinette had the unfortunate luck to be the most junior designer on staff forced to visit a fabric supplier over the holidays. She was actually someplace far warmer at the moment, a fact I had pointed out during our last FaceTime together; sadly, she wouldn't commit to bottling up the sunshine and bringing some back for her kitty.

Still, it felt wrong for me to be in the apartment as Adrien. For a year and a half now, I'd managed to keep my Princess from learning who she was sharing the space with, though she had started a very subtle campaign to try and pry that information out of me. I knew my days of anonymity were likely numbered and hoped I could eek it out until the summer, when a more romantic reveal would be possible. The gray days of winter just weren't right, but it would take every ounce of Chat cunning to keep her off balance until then.

I tilted my head and extended my tongue, catching a few flakes like I had years ago as a child. Only now I had the enhanced feline taste buds, which were able to detect the makeup of the water that had gone into those particular flakes (they were a bit salty tonight). I closed my eyes and wished warm thoughts for my soulmate, then retreated to the relative warmth of the apartment.

The coffee I'd been sipping was sitting on the kitchen island and had gone cold; I dumped it out and ran a new cup through the Keurig, my claws tapping on the granite countertops while I waited. Then, mug in hand, I took my usual cat position atop the coffee table and sipped the hot brew while taking in our tree and the lighted Tower beyond. We'd decorated it together last weekend, just before I helped her pack for her trip; although, to be honest, I was pretty much just in the way, placing myself between her and the suitcase in an attempt to delay the inevitable.

She'd laughed, and fended me off, and then I'd accompanied her to the airport the next morning to see her off. It had been a while since someone I'd cared about had left me behind, and as I sat there, sipping my coffee, all I could think about was that first Christmas after I'd become Chat – and after my mother had disappeared. Perhaps that was why I both looked forward and dreaded the holidays each year. But spending the last few with Marinette had made them more bearable. Tomorrow, though, would be the first time I'd be completely alone.

I drained the last of my mug and vaulted back to the kitchen in an easy leap, rinsed my mug, and then found myself out of reasons to avoid going on patrol. I turned off all of the lights save for the Christmas tree, and then exited via my balcony to leapt into the falling snow. Within minutes, I knew I'd picked up a crown of white on my blonde mane, and wished I'd remembered to put on the beanie Marinette had knitted me. I shook it off, belatedly realizing it would be a losing battle.

Somewhat coincidentally, Ladybug had also informed me two weeks ago that she had a family issue and would be away until the new year. She'd never left me alone in Paris before, but had assured me I was more than up to the task – something I'd never heard her say to me before. In our early years together, in fact, I had suspected she felt I was often more of a distraction, and while that had partially been true, ultimately, I'd proven to her I was her equal. Hearing her actually say it, though, was a new experience.

But that also meant I'd been abandoned by the two people I felt I was closest to at the trickiest part of the calendar for me. It would be a test in more ways than one.

Working my way through Paris, I followed the regular pathway I usually took with Ladybug, but my heart wasn't really in it. It was helpful that the city was quiet, everyone tucked into bed early to await the arrival of Père Noël. I smiled a bit at that as I helicoptered over a thoroughfare: that first Christmas as Chat, I actually helped Ladybug de-akumatize someone I'd come to believe was the real Père Noël. He'd helped me in a dark moment, and I found myself idly wondering if I'd see him again tonight.

At length, I wound up in the square in front of City Hall, and dropped down to the snow-covered surface. The massive Christmas Tree for the city was fully lit, glittering especially brightly in the falling snow. All those years ago, as an angry teenager, I'd intended to take it out with my Cataclysm but couldn't go through with it. Tonight, I carefully picked my way across the snow drifts to a spot just below the tree and just appreciated the quiet beauty of the moment.

I smiled wider as I remembered the hat and card Marinette had given me that night, long ago. It had been a warm gesture, one of many she'd made to Adrien and, now, Chat. Once more, I counted myself lucky for having scored such a kind soul as my girlfriend. I turned around and started back across the snow, pausing only when I saw my own footprints.

My boots were designed to look like cat paws, and even had a version of my paw print on the sole. The snow was deep enough around the tree, though, that the only pattern visible was the paw print – the actual outline of my boot was not appearing. In fact, it looked very much like a cat had been working his way around the square – albeit a very big, human-sized cat.

Feeling mischievous, I started to trot around the square, leaving behind trails of paw prints and making it appear as though a virtual army of cats had been caroling around the tree. The snow had started to lighten up, leaving my hard work more or less intact. Before I knew it, I'd made my way halfway across Paris again, paw prints in every conceivable snow covered surface.

As the bells from the cathedrals rang out for midnight, I found myself sitting on the observation level of the Eiffel Tower, looking back across the city I loved and protected. I was filled with the spirit of the evening, and though I missed both of my ladies, I was missing Marinette far more. On a whim, I pulled out my baton and speed dialed Marinette. I knew it was the wee hours of the morning where she was, but hoped she would pick up. Unfortunately, it went directly to voicemail.

"Hey, Princess," I said to her voicemail, "Merry Christmas from Paris. I miss you and love you."

I snapped the baton closed and returned it to the small of my back, and decided to watch the lights as they played over the city for a while longer. Marinette had left me some wonderful Christmas morning pastries for breakfast, and I had an invitation to join her parents for Christmas Dinner; outside of that, I had no place to be, and no one to see.

I was so engrossed I my thoughts that it took me a few seconds to realize my baton was buzzing. I pulled it out like it was a hot potato and flipped open the phone function.

Marinette was on the small screen, smiling. "Hey kitty," she said. "Merry Christmas!"

"Same to you, Princess," I said warmly, kissing my claw tip and pressing it to her lips on the screen. "I'm sorry for the early call," I added. "I'm really, really missing you."

"I know," she said. "I miss you too." She tried to peer behind me. "Where are you?"

"The Tower," I said. "I just finished leaving my paw prints all over the city."

"You what?"

I explained my paw-printed boot soles and what I'd done, and had her laughing hysterically by the end of my story. "Wait until the newspapers get ahold of that," she laughed, tears streaming.

It made me happy to see her. More than I'd expected. "How's the trip going?"

"Well," she said, eyes mischievous.

Something was off. "What?" I asked, raising a masked eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing," she said, then she slid the phone sideways.

A small Christmas tree was behind her, and behind that—

I hurled myself off the Tower and spun up my baton; as fast as my feline abilities would allow, I crossed the city, making a beeline for our apartment and my balcony. As I neared it, I could see all the lights were on, blazing like a beacon of welcome. I dropped to my balcony and rolled through my open sliding door, vaulted across my bedroom and rolled out into our living room.

Marinette was standing there, arms wide. "Hello, kitty," she said, laughing. "We got done early, and I took the first flight I could get."

I pulled her into my arms, laughing and crying all at the same time. "That's, like, a twenty-hour flight—"

"Yes," she nodded. "But it was worth it." Marinette pulled me down into a wonderful kiss, and then released me. "Merry Christmas, Chat."

I buried my head in her hair, my heart overflowing with joy, and, for once, at a complete loss for words.


	26. Fencing

_Twenty-Six: Fencing_

_Author's Note: Epcot97 here. Have we really been at this for twenty-six days? Thank goodness I have a solid partner in ChubbyUnicornMama to power through the final chapters of #MariChatMay2019._

_As we've previously stipulated our non-ownership status with Miraculous, I will suffer in silence._

_CM here. Silence? Hahahahahaha!_

_Chat and Marinette are enjoying classic movie night on her balcony when Chat inadvertently says the wrong thing (what else is new?) and winds up challenged to a duel._

The end credits for The Adventures of Robin Hood rolled on the tablet I was holding; Marinette was snuggled into my side on her chaise lounge and we'd just wrapped another classic movie night. As I shut down the TCM France site and put the tablet on the side table, I sighed. "I wish I was as good as Errol Flynn."

Marinette turned her face up to me. "What do you mean? I've seen you battling akumas with your baton before, Chat. You have some moves."

"Yeah," I nodded, "but even with all of my training, I still feel like I don't have the natural grace he shows with each move."

"Training?" Marinette asked.

"Uh, yeah," I said hesitantly, realizing I was opening a tiny crack into my civilian self. "Not as much as he likely had." I redirected the conversation slightly. "In the Golden Era of Hollywood, actors intensely prepared for their roles. Flynn was well known for how much effort he put in."

"Training?" Marinette repeated, sitting up a bit and refusing to let the earlier thread go. "What sort of training, exactly?"

I thought about that and how to mask my background a bit. "I've been fencing since I was five," I said carefully. "It's come in handy as Chat Noir." I pulled out my baton. "I suspect that's also why I have this little baby."

"Why do you say that?"

"Each Miraculous extends our capabilities, of course – I can hear better as Chat, for example – but it also enhances abilities we already have. Since fencing is in my skillset, my ring made sure I could use it effectively as Chat."

"Huh," she said thoughtfully. "Are you still training?"

Like a heat seeking missile, I could see Marinette trying to range something. "Yes," I said, a bit of trepidation creeping into my voice. "You can always improve. Why do you ask?"

"I tried out for a fencing club some time ago," she murmured. "Adrien's club, actually."

I shifted slightly. "Oh?" I said. I was well aware of the fiasco that had developed during her tryout. She'd incorrectly declared me the winner in an impromptu duel, leading to an akumatized fencer. I'd also sprained my ankle pretty badly trying to keep Ladybug safe.

"Yeah," she said. "I nearly made the team. I think I'd be pretty good at it."

"Oh, Princess," I started. "You don't need to go to fence—"

Her head spun around. "You don't think I can do it, do you?"

I pulled back a bit. Her blazing eyes were a bit concerning. "That's not what I was going to say—"

Marinette rolled away from me and off the chair, and faster than I thought possible, seized a broom that was randomly placed against the rear wall and bopped me between the feline ears with it. Between her and Ladybug, I was starting to callous up in that particular spot.

I rubbed it with my paws. "Ow! What was that for?"

"En Garde!" she cried, holding out her broom handle.

"Marinette! Hang on just a second—"

She lunged at me and I defensively rolled off the chaise and into a pounce-crouch. But she'd anticipated that move and nearly bopped me again on the head, only I'd assumed she'd go for the easy win and had somersaulted up and onto the half-wall a fraction before she'd reached me.

"Princess—"

"Scared to fight me, Chat?" she asked, tossing the broom between her hands.

"Of course not!" I said angrily. "There's just no need—"

"Then get down here!"

"Princess—"

"Fraidy Chat!"

"Really?" I said. "That's the best you've got?"

"Says the superhero cowering just out of reach."

My masked eyes narrowed. I knew she was trying to get under my skin, and it was starting to work. I slid the baton out from the small of my back and triggered the extension into sword mode. "All right," I said, dropping completely into my Chat persona, "if you're pawsitive you want to do this."

"First to three," she said. "And I'm up by one already."

I leapt from the wall, twisted over her and bopped her on a pigtail from mid-air, then landed facing her on the opposite wrought iron railing. "One and One, methinks."

She twisted around and narrowly missed with a swipe across the chest, but it forced me to leap upward; I had to launch up and over again, landing back on the half-wall. This time I had my back to her, and I heard her run across the space. I twisted and dropped down, but knew I was in a bad spot. As I fended her off with swings from the baton, she was forcing me up against the wall. If I got too close, I'd have no room to maneuver. After another flurry of impressive moves from Marinette, my eyes fell on the chaise.

I made a wild lunge away from the lounge and Marinette followed; it was enough for me to vault to the chaise. But I'd miscalculated in my attempt to get to higher ground: the lounge wasn't designed for such a forceful landing, and I crashed through it completely, pinning my legs in what was left of the wood. Momentarily distracted as I tried to free a foot, I felt a not-very-gentle smack to my side with the broom.

"Two," Marinette cried as she danced away from me.

Side now aching, ego bruised, I growled and pulled myself out of the remains of the lounge chair, throwing myself into the air and landing a half-meter in front of her. She'd not expected that, so I smiled somewhat gleefully as I gently (very gently) tapped her on the other pigtail. "And two for me," I laughed maniacally as I somersaulted away to a safe corner.

Breathing hard, Marinette pursued me and pressed her advantage. I parried her blows, trying to look shocked. Which was hard, since I'd seen her try out at the fencing club and knew she had latent talent. I pushed forward, and then forward again, pressing her back toward the railing. I had no idea why the clanging of the broom against my metallic baton hadn't attracted any attention and idly wondered what her parents might think if they found us.

One more press and I had her up against the iron railing, locking the baton with her broom and bending forward. She was strong – stronger than I realized – but I was also holding back a bit, keeping my super strength in check so it would be a fair fight. I pressed a bit more, feeling her muscles start to shake with exertion, and found my masked face just centimeters from those fiery blue eyes.

I couldn't resist and planted a kiss on her lips. "Three," I said, pulling back.

She whacked me in the side with the broom. "Three," she corrected. "Kissing doesn't count."

"Says you," I smiled, rubbing where she had hit me. "But I am happy to concede the point." I bowed to her. "A well-played match, Princess. It was an honor."

Still breathing hard, she smiled. "Thanks, Chat. Now do you think I can fence?"

"I always thought you could," I said as I put the baton back behind my back.

"But you said—"

"I started to say you didn't need to go to fencing lessons," I interrupted. "I had planned to offer my services to you instead."

Marinette looked at me, slightly embarrassed. "Oh."

I pulled her into a hug, after making sure the broom handle was safely stowed well out of her reach. "Princess, I have never, ever doubted you could do anything you put your mind to. I'm just happy I can be along for the ride."

"I'm sorry," she said into my chest. "I should've realized you were trying to be helpful."

"No worries," I replied. "But what are we going to tell your parents about the lounge…?"


	27. Protecting You

_Day 27: Protecting You_

_Author's Note: Thirty days have September-oh, hey! Epcot97 here, just trying to remember how much time is left in #MariChatMay2019. ChubbyUnicornMama and I are on a roll now, which seems about right since we are almost out of days. Speaking of which, we managed to rent some office space on the same block as ZAG, but apparently, that still doesn't qualify us as part of the Miraculous team. (Technically it was a mailbox.)_

_CM: Is that why you were asking how big of a box we would need to mail you to France?_

_Usually it's Chat that takes the hits, but what happens when Marinette is the one protecting her kitty?_

The ChangeMaker attacked him a few blocks from the Bakery.

Chat had dropped by Marinette's rooftop patio a bit later than normal, as his nightly patrol with Ladybug had unexpectedly been extended with a thoughtful last minute akuma from Hawkmoth. He'd not used his Cataclysm, but Ladybug had needed to bug out before her transformation faded, leaving him to ensure the victim had gotten home safely. By the time he'd started Casablanca with his Princess, it was close to midnight and both of the teens were yawning wildly.

He'd carefully tucked Marinette into her bed and quietly escaped through the skylight, only to vault over a rooftop and directly into a hail of coins. They'd shot at him as if out of a cannon, and had consequently dropped him directly out of the sky and into the middle of the street. His ego was bruised more than his body; as tired as he'd been, he'd failed to hear the jangling sound this particular akuma made when it moved.

"Time to cash out," he snarled from his crouch against the cobblestone.

He pulled out his baton and vaulted toward the petite akuma, only to be pushed backwards, hard, by the force of another barrage of coinage emitting from the tube shaped device it was holding; it had come fast enough, he'd been unable to spin up his baton shield. Crashing against the side of a building, the coins piled up on top of him, nearly burying him before he snapped out of his daze and vaulted up the side of the building.

Alternating between leaps and clawing his way across the marble, he zigged and zagged around the nearly continuous bursts of cash. "If only your assets were liquid," he muttered, narrowly avoiding being washed away by a near miss. "And if you keep this up, you're not likely to remain solvent," he said, louder, as he clambered over the edge of the rooftop and flipped behind the half wall.

Catching his breath, he flipped open the Cat Phone and tried to call in some backup; Ladybug wasn't answering, though, so he snapped it shut and leapt across the roof to the far side. ChangeMaker had jangled its way around the corner, and was on a direct path to the front of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery.

Claws wrapped around the edge of the roof, he hurled himself over the edge and did a double-barrel twist into a roll, popping out in between ChangeMaker and the plate glass windows of the Bakery.

"They don't take cash here," he said, hefting his baton and trying to press the akuma back a bit. He wound up rolling away a fraction of a second before the cash streams took out the front and side windows to the bakery; Chat's ears flattened at the loud crystalline crash.

He couldn't help but turn to see the destruction. A tiny pane of glass was still hanging at the edge of one windowsill, and he watched as it swayed and then dropped to smash against the tile inside the bakery. Rows of pastries were covered in shards; nearly the entire inventory of the store had been ruined. Forgetting the akuma, he slowly walked the edge of the store, nodding sadly at the mess.

All that work by Tom and Sabine… he thought morosely.

It was almost his undoing.

A flicker of movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned in time to see Marinette placing herself between him and ChangeMaker; the akuma had closed the distance while he'd been surveying the damage, and trained its coin emitter on him. She took the full force of the blast, knocking her back into him and through the remaining plate glass window, sending them both into the Bakery with a resounding crash. Chat had instinctively tried to wrap himself around Marinette, but he'd been at an angle; they slid on their sides across the tile floor that was littered with shards until they came to an abrupt stop against the far counter.

He could feel the sting of an open wound on an unprotected part of his face, where it had ground into the tile at landing, but Chat's costume had protected the rest. But that wasn't his primary concern. Marinette had passed out, and was a limp rag doll in his arms that was bruised, and, in many places, bloody where the glass had sliced through her clothing.

A large lump on Marinette's head, and a deep gash on her temple showed where she had made contact with the floor and the counter, and Chat's first instinct was to get her out of harm's way. Why had she stepped out in front of him? He would have been fine, a few bumps, sure, but basically unharmed, but she, well she was hurt. It's not like she was Ladybug and her clothing could just absorb the damage, she was delicate. Skin broke and bruised, magic suits did not.

Putting his body between ChangeMaker and Marinette, he lifted her and took her through the door into the house part of the building, calling for her parents, praying that the akuma wouldn't follow. Hearing the jangle of coins receding as he paused to listen, he decided that ChangeMaker was most likely heading down the street.

Marinette's parents appeared at the top of the stairs, gasping when they saw the state of their daughter. Chat quickly explained that he had stepped out to protect their bakery, but the coins blasting from the change maker attached to the victim's left arm had sent him tumbling, and unable to protect the window, and the pastries contained within it. Marinette had been hurt when she stepped out to protect him.

While he was still in the relative protection of the Dupain-Cheng's house, Chat pulled out his baton and called Ladybug once again; and again got her voicemail. "Ladybug, where are you? People are getting hurt, and I need you! We've got another akuma on our hands." He went back out, with a promise to check on Marinette after Ladybug had used the Miraculous Cure, but she should be completely fine.

Running back out, Chat chased ChangeMaker down the block. He was able to lead her to the park, where there were less businesses and, at this time of night, people for the akuma to damage. As he danced around, he started to worry that Ladybug was already sleeping, and wouldn't arrive in time.

Back at the Dupain-Cheng household, Marinette was waking up. Her head hurt, her arms and legs hurt, pretty much everything hurt. Opening her eyes, she looked around. She was laying on the floor of the living room, a sheet underneath her, with her parents picking bits of glass out of her hair. Truthfully, her mom was picking out bits of glass, her dad was crying too hard to be of much help. Shakily, she sat up, and waited for the room to stop spinning.

There was an akuma out there, and Chat needed her help. She hadn't thought before she'd dived in front of him, which was much more his style than hers, but when she saw what ChangeMaker was about to do, instinct took over. Looking at her hovering parents, and wondering what she could say to be allowed out of their sight, Marinette suggested that she go and take a shower to wash all of the glass out of her various cuts. Reluctantly, her parents agreed, but made her promise to call for her mom if she needed any help.

Painfully she made her way into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. Tikki phased through the door, and looked Marinette over. "Are you sure you want to do this? Putting the suit on will help, but it will certainly still hurt."

"I need to do this, Tikki. It's why there is a Ladybug. Chat needs us. Paris needs us. Plus, everything will get fixed faster when I use my lucky charm. So, Tikki… spots on!"

Transforming was painful. When she pulled her yoyo off her hip and slipped out of the window, leaving the shower running, her body ached, and sharp pains pricked all over. She didn't let it slow her down, as she headed to the park, and landed on top of the Carousel near where Chat Noir and ChangeMaker were fighting.

"Glad you could make it, Milady," he called out to his partner. When he glanced over and saw her wincing as she spun her yoyo protectively, he took a step back and leaped up to where she sat. His eyes ran over her scratched up face, and the gash at the temple looked awfully familiar. "Are you alright? The akuma is in her change dispenser, I can take care of everything if you need me to."

"I'm alright, Chat." Ladybug said. "I just got a little caught in her path a few blocks back." Turning her focus back to the akuma, she called for her lucky charm, wincing with pain as she threw her yoyo up into the air. The Ladybug Magic burst into life above her, but the act of tossing her yo-yo had her doubled over in pain; enough that Chat was immediately by her side, paw on her back, the other gently pressed to her face.

"LB - you're clearly hurt," he said. Neither of them paid any heed to the massive horseshoe-shaped magnet, decked out in red with black polka dots that dropped from the sky and landed next to the carousel. "Tell me what to do, you're not going anywhere."

Grimacing, Ladybug tried to straighten up. "I'm fine, Chat-"

"You are most definitely not," he nearly growled. "As soon as this is sorted, I'm taking you for help." He continued, more softly, "It's my fault you're injured, anyway. I'll fix this."

Ladybug looked at him, and saw the angst in his eyes. He really did seem to feel responsible - but he couldn't know how she'd been hurt, could he? She started to argue and felt a twinge of pain, and instead simply nodded. "All right, Chat."

She scanned the space, and despite the pain, a wry smile graced her face. "This one is simple enough even for a kitty," she said affectionately. "Lash that magnet to the light post over by the fountain. Then all you have to do is figure out how to get ChangeMaker close enough to it; the magnet should do the rest."

"I'll try not to mess it up, Milady," he saluted, trying to keep the mood light. But she could still see the worry behind the masked eyes.

Chat somersaulted off the carousel, landing in front of the massive magnet. Avoiding a burst of coins aimed in his direction, he hefted the object over a shoulder, and vaulted to the lamp that Ladybug had pointed out, trailing coins that had been caught up in the magnetic field. Leaning it against the wrought iron, he quickly undid his belt tail and wrapped it around the magnet and the post; once he was certain it was there to stay, he pulled out his baton and trotted back toward ChangeMaker.

"I'd like to make an exchange," he said, extended the baton into staff mode and batting back a burst of coins. Flipping over, he landed to the side of the akuma in a crouch, and then rolled away from another stream of money that blasted away the soil he'd been sitting atop.

"Do you take bills smaller than a twenty?" he asked, slowly coaxing the akuma toward the lamp as he goaded it. "That's all I've got on me. Though, who uses cash these days, anyway?"

Ladybug had braced herself against one of the decorative accents and watched as her partner carefully but methodically pushed the akuma where he needed it to go, cheekily keeping up his running commentary all the while. Even though it hurt to smile, she found herself enjoying the show he was putting on for an audience of two.

One more dodge, vault and roll placed Chat directly in front of the magnet with ChangeMaker bearing down on him. "I've heard I have a magnetic purrsonality," he said, eyes glinting and smile wide. "But my friend here might put me to shame!"

ChangeMaker had turned her dispenser toward Chat just as he leapt up and onto the lamp itself, exposing the magnet. He watched, fascinated, as the powerful field connected with the metal of the change dispenser; for a moment, it looked like ChangeMaker might just be able to pull away, but with a resounding metallic clunk it slipped off her arm and connected with the edges of the magnet.

"Cataclysm!" Chat cried, and once the power filled his fingertips, he rolled off the light and dropped to the ground, then ran his paw across the change dispenser. It turned brown and floated away in cloud of ash, exposing the purple akuma which fluttered up and away.

Without waiting, Chat vaulted over the akuma, and leapt up to the top of the carousel. "Can you reach it from here?" he asked urgently, one cat eye on her, the other watching the purple akuma start to move away from them.

"Normally, yes. But I think I need to be-"

He didn't let her finish, and instead scooped her up, gently, and vaulted back to the ground just below the escaping butterfly, landing as softly as he could. Ladybug spun up her yo-yo. "Time to de-evilize!" she said, with only half her normal flair, and tossed her device at the akuma, snagging it cleanly. A moment later, she'd sagged into Chat after releasing the pure white butterfly from her yo-yo.

"Do your final step," Chat prodded softly, a claw running through her hair. "I'm furrvently hoping it will repair... everything…"

Ladybug started to pull the magnet and grimaced. "That hurts," she said. "Can you toss the magnet for me? I don't think I can do it."

He put out a paw. "Of course, Milady."

Taking the magnet from the lamp, and retrieving his tail in the process, Chat Noir tossed the lucky charm up into the air, as he and Ladybug called in unison "Miraculous Ladybug". The healing red beetles swept out and around the city, clearing up the debris. Swirling around Chat Noir, they removed the cuts from his face, and when he turned to look, he saw that they had done the same for his partner.

Ladybug swung her arms experimentally and stood straighter. A smile blooming across her face. She held her arm out for their traditional fist bump, and Chat complied, although more gently than usual. Hearing her earring beep, Ladybug swung away with her normal grace, and a "Bug out!" tossed over her shoulder. Chat checked on the victim before heading back to the Dupain-Cheng's to check on Marinette, stopping in an alley first to feed Plagg.

Ladybug slipped in through the bathroom window, quickly detransforming, and getting her hair wet enough for people to believe that she had, indeed, been in the shower, before throwing on a bathrobe and stepping out to show her parents that Ladybug had healed her. She was sitting on the couch with her parents, the bakery having been put back in order by the Miraculous magic, when the door burst open, and Chat Noir burst in. Marinette squeaked and gripped the front of her bathrobe tightly shut, but Chat's gaze traveled over her face, and her exposed forearms, before zeroing in on her left shin, where a large bruise shone a deep purple color. "You're still hurt!" he cried in dismay.

Marinette looked at her shin quizzically and laughed. "Oh, that? I did that in the storeroom yesterday. Walked straight into the corner of a crate of olive oil while I was carrying a bag of flour. It's not akuma related, so it didn't heal. I'm a klutz, so I'm always covered in bruises."

When he knew she was relatively uninjured, Chat finally noticed what she was wearing, and started blushing under his mask. Seeing his blush caused Marinette to blush in turn. "I, uh, am going to go and get dressed now. Uh, did you want something to eat?"

Sabine took over, shooing Marinette upstairs and telling her she'd send Chat up with a plate of goodies in five minutes. Precisely five minutes later, there was a knock on her trap door, and Chat's voice asking if it was OK for him to come in. She was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, and seemed to be completely healed. Chat set the plate down on her desk, and turned to face Marinette. "So, uh, we should talk."

Marinette sighed. "I'm not going to apologize for jumping out and protecting you. You're always looking out for everyone else. How can you save Paris, when you're hurt?"

Chat looked angry at that. "You did. My job is not to protect Paris; that's YOUR job. My job is to protect YOU." When Marinette started to protest, Chat held up his hand to stop her from saying anything. "You were injured in the exact same places. That didn't change when you transformed. I know you're Ladybug, Marinette. I'm just surprised I didn't see it sooner. Purromise me you won't take a hit like that for me again, Princess."

Processing everything he had just said, Marinette looked Chat in the eyes, "I can't promise you that, Kitty. You would do the same for me, in or out of the suit. You can't deny that."

"I would, and I have Milady." With that, Chat Noir leaned forwards, kissed Marinette on the cheek, and hopped up on her bed. Halfway out her skylight, he turned to her with a wink and said, "See you at school tomorrow."

By the time Marinette was able to ask, "Wait, what?!" Chat Noir had disappeared into the night.


	28. Secrets

_Day 28: Secrets_

_Author's Note: Ep: For some reason, I was returned "postage due" from the ZAG offices today, CM. I was kinda hoping that ploy would work._

_CM: Quit yelling! I'll open the box. Eventually. _

_Ep: It IS getting stuffy in here. But anyway… let's see if we can't take care of that little bombshell you threw at us in Protecting You, shall we? And finish out #MariChatMay2019 strong._

_CM: Fine blame me for that. (Oh wait… it WAS me). Don't worry, I'm sure that Marinette will figure it out. Around about the same time I let you out of that box…._

_So, Chat knows that Ladybug is Marinette, but will she ever figure out that Chat Noir is Adrien?_

_Ep: Not if I can help it!_

_CM: You know I said I wasn't letting you out of the box until she figured it out, right?_

_Ep: Cataclysm…! Oh, snap._

_CM: ANYway… Back to our intrepid heroes. _

Marinette had tossed and turned all night. The words that Chat Noir had said as he'd left playing over and over in her mind. 'See you tomorrow at school'. That meant that she knew him. Not just as Chat Noir, but in his civilian form as well. He went to her school. Well, that explains why so many akumas had happened there. By the time the sun rose, Marinette had given up on sleep, and while exhausted, was still one of the first people to arrive at school.

Adrien was having a great night. Marinette was Ladybug. Ladybug was Marinette. He couldn't be happier about this turn of events. Not only was Ladybug his best friend, but Marinette was one of his closest friends. The fact that they were the same person thrilled him. He'd been right all along… she truly was amazing both in and out of the suit, and once he thought about it, he knew he'd been falling for Marinette, too. This was perfect. All he had to do was to let her figure it out, and he was going to have fun helping her along.

The first thing that he did was to apply a pair of temporary tattoos, one of a ladybug, the other a black and green paw print at the base of his neck, just below his collar. That way, only someone sitting behind, and slightly above him would see it, and only when his shirt gaped at the back.

Strolling into class that morning, Adrien glanced at Marinette, who was already there, and appeared to have spent the night thinking about what he'd said to her as he left. She was scrutinizing everyone who walked through the door, looking for any telltale kitty traits. He kept his inner Chat on a tight leash, realizing this day was going to be much harder than he expected, to not just blurt out, "I'm right here!" Instead, he smiled his bland Adrien smile at her. She stiffened, and blushed slightly, before waving back at him, and he worried that he'd given it away already, but then her eyes locked on Nathaniel, who had entered the room behind him, and Adrien assumed she was just embarrassed because she'd been caught staring.

A few minutes later, Nino strolled in, and he and Adrien fell into conversation. Being a beautiful day, Adrien had already convinced his bodyguard that he didn't need to go home for lunch, so he broached the subject with Nino. "Hey, I managed to be able to stick around for lunchtime. Don't you think it's a purrfect day to go to over to the park?" At Nino's nod, he turned to Alya and Marinette. "What about it, ladies, would you care to join us?" He'd heard Marinette's soft gasp at his cat pun, but she seemed to visibly relax when he didn't offer up another one.

"Sure!" Alya immediately agreed, nudging Marinette who had frozen up when Adrien locked his green eyes at her. "We would love to go, right, Mari?"

"Uh, well, uh…" Marinette didn't seem able to put words together.

"Awesome," Adrien replied, working overtime not to adjust it into a pun. But he did narrow his eyes ever so slightly, giving them the same quasi-slant his mask often made. "Are you all right, Marinette? You look like you didn't get any sleep at all last night."

"I'm… fine," was all she got out before the teacher called for their attention and launched the lesson.

Adrien found himself tapping his stylus against the table in lieu of having his tail fidget. The morning crawled by, but not before he had very strategically bowed his head down slightly to expose the tattoos. He frowned a bit to himself that there had been no reaction - at least, none that he'd yet detected. Even without his transformation, he'd found that his hearing had grown more acute but nothing so much as a sigh came from the desk behind.

Finally, the lunch bell rang out and Adrien quickly stuffed his materials into his backpack and turned toward Nino. "I think we should treat the Princesses to lunch today, dude."

Nino grinned. "That sounds like a great idea! We can get something from the Bakery on our way to the park."

Marinette managed to squeak, "Today's special is a salmon and spinach pie."

Adrien turned his green eyes back to Marinette. "Salmon! That's one of my favorites!" He paused. "But I have to admit, spinach bugs me in my seafood."

Marinette had been attempting to not stumble down the steps toward Adrien, and missed his subtle emphasis.

The four friends headed to the bakery, and while the boys ordered lunch, Marinette and Alya ran up to grab some blankets for them to lay on. As soon as they got to the park, Adrien insisted they set the blankets out in the sun, and immediately stretched out full length, managing not to purr.

"Dude!" Exclaimed Nino. "You're being such a cat today."

Feeling Marinette stiffen beside him, Adrien cracked one eye open and peer at her, and then Nino. Shrugging, he said, "No more than any other day." Then he stretched, luxuriously, nearly as well as he could when transformed.

Nino pushed Adrien. "C'mon, dude, let's eat! Naptime is later."

"All right, all right," Adrien replied, sitting up. As Nino started to hand out plates and utensils, Adrien carved up the fresh-from-the-oven pie and served each of them a healthy slice. Some healthier than others; Marinette's looked to be twice the size of everyone else.

She looked at Adrien. "This is more than I can eat," she said.

"You look hungry," he replied, smiling a quasi-Chat smile back at her. She started to protest again, but the clear rumbles from her stomach quashed whatever she was going to say.

Adrien laughed. "Mine does the same thing, too. Some would think I had an amazing metabolism," he said.

Nonchalantly, he ran a hand through his hair, messing it up slightly. He'd used less hair product than normal, and knew it was borderline Chat-ish at the moment. Marinette had caught the motion, but apparently he'd have to add cat ears for her to make that connection. He tried hard not to roll his eyes - generally he was the one slow to the party.

Thinking it was time for a new tact, he broke off a crust from one of the freshly baked rolls he'd intentionally added to the order and tossed it to an empty part of the grass. He was rewarded by a gaggle of pigeons descending on the morsel, which disappeared almost immediately. Purposefully, the flock advanced toward the foursome, with Adrien tossing a few more bits their way. He just needed them to get a tiny bit closer…

"Shoo!" Nino said suddenly, jumping up and flailing his arms, chasing away the flock in a flurry of feathers. He turned an accusatory glare on Adrien, but didn't have a chance to say what was on his mind.

Adrien had scrunched up his face and then dramatically let out a series of sneezes, rapid-fire and Chat-like. Sounding quite congested, he laughed. "Sorry," he said nasally. "They're so cute, I always furget how allergic I am to birds," he said, sneaking in a cat pun.

"Birds?" Marinette asked, staring at him. "I thought it was feathers?"

He put a thoughtful finger to his chin, though it was missing his normal claw tip. "That's right," he said, nodding solemnly. "I love birds."

Marinette was now watching Adrien with a considering look on her face. As they cleaned up and headed out of the park, Adrien allowed a little of Chat Noir's swagger to loosen up Adrien's typically more rigid posture as he and Nino proceeded the girls to the gate. Marinette turned to Alya and said, "If you want to head back to school with Nino, Adrien and I can drop these blankets off at my house."

Proud of her friend for making the effort to get alone time with Adrien (and not at all minding spending time with her own boyfriend) Alya swiftly agreed, hooking her arm through Nino's and pulling him off, as she tossed her blanket to Adrien. "Catch you guys back at school!"

They walked in silence for a minute or so, when Marinette turned to Adrien. "You're not going to bell-ieve what I'm thinking right now." She paused waiting to see his reaction. A Chat-like grin spread across his face before he was able to school his features, and his hand unconsciously fluttered up to touch the base of his throat. Caught you, Kitty. Marinette thought to herself.

"What are you thinking?" Adrien asked, his eyes twinkling with suppressed mirth.

"I'm thinking that I definitely can't make that promise to you." Adrien looked at her quizzically, and she continued, "Nobody's going to blink twice at me showing up with an extra bruise or two, and I'll always jump in to take the hit." He shook his head and frowned at her, but didn't say anything because they'd arrived at the bakery by this point, and headed up to put the blankets away.

As Marinette turned from the closet, Adrien wrapped her in a hug. "Well done, Milady. I knew you'd figure me out. I'd still rather not ever see you as hurt as you were last night."

After the initial shock, Marinette melted into him, burying her face in his chest. "Now you understand how I feel, every time you jump in front of me. Yes, your suit protects you, but I've seen you die. And no amount of nine-lives jokes will take that memory away."

Reluctantly letting go, the two hurried back to school to avoid being late, yet again. They didn't really get to talk again until later that evening, when Marinette was at her desk doing homework, and she heard a familiar tapping at her skylight. Letting him in, she asked, "To what do I owe this honor?"

"Do I need a reason to visit my Purrincess?" Responded Chat Noir.

"No, but it would help if you knew the answer to question 7 on the maths homework." Marinette joked.

Chat chuckled, but clearly had something else on his mind, as he rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "Actually, I came by to talk to you about something. Uh, well, I was wondering if you wanted to go see a movie this weekend."

Marinette grinned at him. "Dressed like that?"

He smiled at her. "I'll wear whatever you like," he said, as he leisurely leaned against her desk.

"Then maybe without the ears. I'd say you're less conspicuous, but I've been to the movies with you before." She said, laughing. "This time I'll try to wear real clothes."

They laughed together at the shared memory, realizing now what they had been hiding from each other in that darkened theater. "But Chat?" she started, reaching up to run a finger along his mask. "Let's keep this date between the two of us, okay?"

Chat smiled wider. "You know me, Purrincess," he said grandly. "I can totally keep a secret."


	29. Werecat

_Twenty-Nine: Werecat_

_Author's Note: Epcot97 here. Somehow, we've managed to make it all the way to the May 29th edition of #MariChatMay2019. More surprisingly, ChubbyUnicornMama is still talking to me. I'm awfully glad she let me out of that box; I'm with Chat - small enclosed spaces scare me._

_CM: And yet you packed yourself in a shipping crate and sent yourself to Paris. How is this my fault? Just because I sealed it in a way you could never get out of by yourself. And put that "Caution, wild animal" sticker on it..._

_Since we can't afford to purchase any part of Miraculous at this point, we've instead pooled our resources for counseling. I managed to get a good fifteen minute session in before my credit ran out. Not sure if CM was able to get any._

_Strange things happen on Halloween; even stranger when you add in a black cat and an akuma attack._

Ladybug and Chat Noir had fought all manner of akumas, so very little tended to surprise them now. But the pumpkin-headed scarecrow made a good run for consideration in the top ten of all time. Chat wasn't easily rattled, but as the two of them perched atop a building and watched the full moon illuminate the akuma as it lobbed smaller pumpkins at victims - turning them into all manner of creepy Halloween monsters - he felt that all of his feline senses were nearly screaming for him to run away and hide in the first warm spot he could curl up in.

Swallowing, he decided not to share that particular observation with his partner, who herself looked a bit white around the edges. For once, he couldn't think of any puns to lighten the heavy mood. Instead, he settled for squeezing in a bit closer and gently putting an arm around her - if for no other reason that to exert some small personal comfort to her. Even though he had none for himself.

"What's the plan, Milady?" he asked, trying to sound his normal, overconfident Chat self.

"We need to get a bit closer," she said. "I have zero idea where the akuma is hidden." Ladybug turned back to him. "Unless you saw something before I got here?"

"No." He'd been on his way back from the costume party that Marinette had hosted at the Bakery when he'd heard the screams and had redirected. That brought a slight smile to his face, as, technically, Marinette hadn't considered him properly dressed for the party; coming as Chat Noir didn't count. "I arrived just a fraction before you, LB."

"Okay," she muttered. "Let's see what this guy - or girl - is up to."

Chat nodded, swallowed again, and dropped over the edge, using his baton to slow his fall and arc toward (all right, he thought, might as well go there) Pumpkin Head. He'd dropped onto all fours a little distance in front of it and peered up. "I'd like to carve out a moment, if you don't-" he started.

He didn't have a chance to finish as the akuma rapidly tossed a series of miniature lighted pumpkins at him. Chat rolled out of the way of one, then rolled the opposite way to avoid the second, and tried to leap away to safety before getting nailed in the back by a third. He was in mid-air, and all of his limbs shot out as if he'd been hit by a bolt of electricity. Chat landed, flat, on the street, and tried to shake the creeping sensation that overtook him. Frantically he started to look for Ladybug, and had nearly found her when he felt his sense of self become overwhelmed with conflicting impulses. The full moon suddenly started to leer at him, and he found himself unable to prevent a snarl from escaping from his lips.

Eyes narrowing, he tried to hold on to the last vestiges of Chat, and then felt them tumble away into the yawning abyss of raw, unrestrained emotion. Letting out a frustrated yowl, Chat tore around the final corner, and found the source of the scent he had been searching for. His hazy thoughts swirled, all he could think was "Find scent. This scent good" Following this instinct the huge cat that he had become bounded over to Ladybug, rubbing against her leg.

Looking down at the almost waist-high black cat with familiar green eyes that was pressing itself into her side, Ladybug's eyes flew open wide. "Chat Noir?" she asked. "Kitty? Is that you?".

Instead of replying WereChat turned his head to the entrance of the alley and started to growl, low and deep, his tail and fur puffed out from his body, his head low and dangerous. Setting her hand against his back, and fighting the temptation to yank it away, when he turned his head on her, Ladybug tried to sound reassuring. "It's ok, Chat, I'll get you back to normal." Forcing a laugh she added, "well, normal for you, anyway."

WereChat's head swung back to the entrance of the alleyway, and Ladybug could feel his muscles tensed as if to pounce. Before she had a chance to even try holding him back, WereChat had leaped for the end of the alley, where Pumpkinhead had just appeared.

Leaping at the akuma with a ferocious snarl, WereChat gripped the pocket of the plaid shirt that covered the straw-stuffed scarecrow body, ripping it open, and sending a purple tinged photo fluttering to the ground. He distracted PumpkinHead, nipping and darting back, turning the akuma around so that it's back was towards Ladybug.

Ladybug took this opportunity to use her lucky charm, one of those extendo-hands, snatching up the photo, ironically of a black cat, and tearing it in two, releasing the akuma. She quickly cleaned it and, after releasing the pure, white butterfly, threw her lucky charm up in the air, and turned around to fist bump her partner. He was still in WereChat form, so she waited a few more minutes, but nothing changed. Earrings beeping, she turned to WereChat. "You are Chat Noir, right?" The creature nodded its shaggy head. "Do you remember where Marinette Dupain-Cheng lives?" WereChat cocked his head to the side. He knew, but wondered why she was asking him that. And why he hadn't changed back. "Go to her house. The bakery? Smells like croissants?" When his tongue darted out to lick his lips, she continued. "Sit on her doorstep. I'm about to change back, but I'll let her know to come take care of you." With that Ladybug swung off in the direction of the Dupain-Cheng's house, and WereChat trotted along, following the smell of baked goods.

He realized his senses were even stronger as Were-Chat than they were as Chat Noir. He also noticed that he could think more clearly than he had been able to at first, and wondered if that was a side effect of the Akuma having been cleansed. Looking up, he also realized that dark clouds were obscuring the full moon from view, so he figured it was probably the combination of the two. Not that he was complaining. Reaching the bakery, and not sensing either Ladybug or Marinette, he laid down in front of the shop's windows to wait.

Ladybug dropped through her open skylight and onto her bed, landing just as her de-transformation hit and washed over her with its pink wave of energy. Climbing down to her desk, Tikki followed her and accepted the macaroon she was handed from the stash in the drawer.

"I don't understand, Tikki," Marinette said as she moved toward the trap door to the family space. "The Miraculous Cure didn't change Chat back."

"It's Halloween and a full moon," Tikki said between munches on the pink cookie. "It's not uncommon to see side effects when combined with Miraculous magic."

Marinette paused, hand on the trap door. "Will the effects fade? With the moon phase?" she asked, eyes wide. "There's no way I can hide Chat here for a few days, not to mention his alter-ego is going to be missed."

"I'm not sure if any of the traditional defenses against were-beings would be applicable, Marinette," Tikki replied. "We might be in uncharted waters."

"Great." Marinette threw back the trap door, and Tikki floated down with her, hiding in a pocket as they passed through the family space.

It was late enough that her parents had long since turned in for the evening, but she crept to the residence entrance to prevent them from waking. Pulling back the door, she found WereChat curled up on the doormat, fast asleep. He was heart-achingly cute, despite not being himself.

She reached down and gently scratched behind an ear; one green eye slit open, just as she expected it would, and a happy expression graced his feline face. Stretching luxuriously, he willinging followed her into the apartment, though he scooted in front of her and insisted on searching each new area before allowing her to enter. Marinette tried not to smile at his protectiveness.

Chat led her up to the bedroom, and easily leapt onto her bed, lying crosswise with his paws overhanging the edge. I never realized how pretty this space was in the dark, he thought, then was surprised he was having somewhat human thoughts. His feline eyes flicked to the window, and he could see the gathering storm had completely obscured the full moon.

He cleared his throat and was surprised to be able to say: "Princess…"

"Chat!" she answered. "I don't know how this happened, but Ladybug asked me to take care of you for a bit until she could recharge and return. How are you feeling?"

He thought about that. "At the moment, less like a cat than five minutes ago," he answered. "This full moon… meow!" he finished, eyes widening in surprise, suddenly losing his train of thought and instead focusing on Marinette's safety.

A hole in the clouds had allowed the glow of the moon to fill the room for a moment, and Marinette watched as her partner's human side was immediately subsumed to WereChat. She needed some way to break the spell the akuma's attack on him had somehow created.

Marinette gently took what would have been his ring paw in her hand; she was startled to see it was still there, and still glowing, albeit somewhat larger than normal in order to fit around the paw. That meant it was still channeling Miraculous magic.

Maybe if I can force him to de-transform, she thought. If he's no longer Chat Noir, WereChat should disappear, too, right? If I explained things, would he let me remove his ring? And will he be permanently forced into being WereChat at every full moon? I will have to talk to Master Fu about this.

She decided it was worth the risk, and looked back up at WereChat. "I'm going to get you some croissants. I think I have a solution for you, but it might be a little scary, so I'm going to need you to trust me, alright? Wait here for a minute, I'll be right back." She scratched his chin as she spoke, calming the WereChat side of him down.

WereChat nodded his shaggy head and put it down on his paws, though his eyes watched her depart. When she returned, he warily sniffed the food, before swallowing it down in large bites. He licked his lips, then turned his green eyes to Marinette, who was tacking a blanket over her skylight to help block out the moon, which was currently covered by clouds.

Turning to WereChat, Marinette asked, "Can you understand me?"

"Yes. I feel fairly human right now. At least on the inside. What's your plan, Marinette." WereChat asked.

"Like I said, it's fairly simple, but scary. If you take your ring off, you turn from Chat Noir into well, whomever you are. I think the process will work if we take your ring off now. I'll know who you are, but Ladybug wouldn't have told you to come here if she didn't trust me. If that doesn't work, I know a, um, herbalist I could take you to."

Picking up his paw in both of her hands, Marinette looks into his green feline eyes. "Are you ready for this, Kitty?" She held onto his paw, but didn't move without his approval. Finally, his shaggy head nodded once. He leaned forward, and nuzzled his face into her shoulder, hiding his eyes from what she's doing.

Marinette spoke aloud as she placed his large paw on her lap, and reached to pull the ring off of his finger, alerting him to everything she's doing, and not making any sudden moves. She was able to slide the ring down to the first knuckle, but it got a little stuck; tugging a little harder, keeping WereChat informed of her every movement, she slid his ring off the whole way.

A flash of green light illuminated the room, and Marinette found herself suddenly clasping a very human hand, his blond head still burrowed into her shoulder. She quickly slid the ring back on, and turned to the voice she heard hovering beside her ear. "Good thinking Marinette. Now, do you have anything to eat?"

"Good to see you, Plagg. I have cheesy bread over on the desk, and she's waiting for you behind the dress form." Marinette answered the little black kwami with a smile.

Lifting his head from her shoulder, Adrien stared at Marinette. "How do you know Plagg? And who is behind the dress form?" He looked wildly around the room. "Is there someone else in here?"

Marinette stared at him, feeling stunned. "A-a-adrien?"

Adrien looked back at Marinette, who was kneeling in front of him, still gripping his hand, looking very pale. "Marinette. It's alright. It's me. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. I couldn't tell anyone. Even Ladybug doesn't know who I am." He turned his hand over in his and held both of her hands. "But I need your help right now. Who has Plagg gone to talk to? Is it Ladybug, or someone else"

"Um, both? Sort of? Both Ladybug and someone else, that is. I-it's Tikki, Ladybug's kwami. My kwami." Her voice got softer as she spoke, the last two words barely audible to even Adrien's highly sensitive ears.

His gaze snapped back to hers. "Your kwami? Marinette... you are Ladybug?" It made sense once he thought about it. The two girls were very similar, and she and Plagg did seem to know each other. She hadn't been surprised at all at Ladybug's odd request, finding a Werecat on her front stoop or a floating black cat popping out of his ring demanding to be fed.

Marinette brushed her hair back from her ears to show him her earrings, then called for Tikki to come out. Smiling, Tikki floated over to nuzzle Marinette, before turning to Adrien and saying, "Hello, Adrien. It is very nice to officially meet you."

Adrien couldn't help but smile back at her. "It's nice to meet you too, Tikki, even if you two have been under my nose this whole time!"

Tikki turned back to Marinette. "Marinette, Adrien needs to transform back into Chat Noir, so that we can make sure the magic has been truly broken. I would hate for him to try to transform, only to turn back into WereChat, so we need to check it out now."

Plagg groaned. "But I still have a piece of cheesy bread left. Can't this wait until I'm done eating?"

"That's the problem." Tikki chided him. "You're never done eating."

Plagg popped the last piece of bread into his mouth whole, chewed twice and then swallowed it. "Fine. Ready whenever you are, Kid." A few moments later, Plagg was sucked into the ring, and Chat Noir stood in front of them.

Chat smiled at them, happy to be transformed and human - well, Chat-human - again. He stepped over and pulled Marinette into a long, tight hug. "Thank you, Princess. You saved me, as usual." He dropped a kiss on her forehead, and stepped back to go.

Marinette had other plans, as she stepped forward, eyes on his, and smiled up at him. Touching her hand to his cheek, she studied his face. "Did you really mean it, Chat? About the girl behind the mask? I-is it alright that it's me? That it's just Marinette?"

"Alright? It's more than alright. The woman I love turns out to be one of my best friends. And you are far from 'just' Marinette." He paused, masked green eyes searching her blue. "Are you good with me being Adrien?"

Dropping her hand to the back of his neck, and playing with his hair, she said shyly, "You know the boy that I'm in love with? The one I'm always turning you down for?" His ears drooped as she said this, and his eyes broke their gaze with hers. "Turns out that it's you. It's always been you, Adrien."

With that, she stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head and caught her lips instead.


	30. Prey or Hunt

_30 Prey/hunt_

_Author's Note: CM: I can't believe that we're almost done with the month, and the powers that be haven't come begging for us to write for the show yet. Never mind the fact that I speak absolutely no useful French. I can learn. Maybe. I'm good at puns… that should count for something. _

_I figured I had to give you guys a nice short chapter to balance out, well, everything that Epcot97 writes. _

She had that feeling that something was watching her. Hearing the soft pad of footsteps behind her, Marinette ran. A glance over her shoulder showed that her that her suspicions were true. She was fast, surprisingly so, but the dark figure chasing her was faster. And smart.

He stalked her through the night, blending into shadows and jumping out from behind corners. He anticipated her moves, and took shortcuts, while Marinette had to stick to the main pathways to keep from being attacked alone in an alley. Marinette's feet pounded down the pathway through the park, but she was tiring. It was a dangerous shortcut, sometimes busy, but sometimes lonely, and she took that chance.

She could see the bakery. She was almost home, but the shadow was getting ever closer. She could hear his breath coming hard, even over her panting gasps, as she pushed her body to its limits. 20 meters until the edge of the grass. 15 meters. 10. Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind, her momentum stopped so suddenly that she pitched forward, falling face down.

Holding her tight, he flipped her over, pinning her in place with his superior strength. Both of her much smaller hands were held above her head in one of his; and his legs bracketed hers, his weight keeping her from bucking or kicking. His eyes gleamed with a malicious joy as he looked her up and down, taking in her look of fear, her body's reaction to his proximity. He grinned wolfishly.

Slowly, he lifted her shirt to expose her pale belly, and she felt the rasp of his claws against her skin, and screamed. Again and again she felt his claws, across her belly, down her sides, and up to her shoulders, her whole body was shaking and her screams pierced the night. She tried to fight off her attacker, but her attempts became weaker as the tears rolled from her eyes. She was finally able to gasp out the words that made him pause, "Chat! Stop! That tickles!"

Grinning down at her Chat responded, "That's the point of tickling, Princess." He leaned down to kiss her. The kiss lingered, and he released her hands in order to cup her cheek, and her hands dove into his hair, pulling him down closer. They broke apart, and Chat rolled off of her, pulling them both to their feet. Marinette slipped her hand into his. "Come on, Kitty. Let's go home."


	31. Supernatural Creatures

_Day 31 Supernatural Creatures_

_Author's Note: CM: Well, we May-d it. 31 stories for 31 days in May! We've had so many supporters this month, and you guys have been amazing! This has been an absolute blast, and there is one person I could not have done this without. So, DearestMrIcarus, this one's for you. (Ha! Ep, you thought I was going to say you, didn't you!)_

_Ep: Ouch. Guess I'll hold on to this nice letter we got from Zag, welcoming us to the company…_

**_Thank you guys so much for following us! If you liked this, you're going to LOVE next month. Watch for another story-a-day month published on Epcot97's account!_**

_Yeah, I know the miraculous don't work like this, but humor me._

* * *

"You look beautiful Marinette." He said, circling her, looking at the dress she had designed herself. The most important one she'd ever made: her wedding dress.

"Thank you, Plagg. You look quite handsome yourself." She giggled at the kwami, who had, under protest, donned a tiny top hat and bright green bow tie at Tikki's insistence.

"I can't believe we're getting married in an hour! This is a dream come true." Marinette was glowing as she pictured her soon to be husband wearing the tuxedo that she had designed for him, black, with a green vest underneath. Today was the day that she would marry the man she had loved for so long. Adrien. Chat Noir. Her Kitty.

The ceremony was beautiful, and as Adrien and Marinette were dancing together at the reception, Plagg and Tikki did also. Together they giggled about how blind their chosen ones had been, and how happy they were that the pair were now joined together. Soulmates, now and forever.

* * *

Marinette lay on her side on the bed, uncomfortable, as everything was these days. It was 3am and she was wide awake, Tikki sleeping on the pillow beside her. Her husband was curled up next to her, one hand gently resting on her enlarged belly. Even their cats, Statler, a grey tabby and Waldorf, a white ball of fluff were snoring softly on Adrien's other side.

The only other one still awake was Plagg. She beckoned to the little kwami, and he flew over, laying next to her, letting Marinette scratch his head, something he never did when Adrien was looking. Purring softly, Plagg looked Marinette in the eyes. "Are you ready? Tomorrow's the big day. The doctor said she wouldn't let you stay pregnant past tomorrow. You are already over a week past your due date!"

Grinning at the little black kwami, Marinette replied, "In theory, we have everything we need, but in my head, I'm panicking. I have no idea how to do this! What if I'm a bad mom?"

"If you repeat this, I'll deny it." Said Plagg, dropping his voice even lower, "but I love having kids around. Those are my favorite times. Even if my Chat Noirs don't end up with Ladybug, having little kittens running around is fun, but when they belong to the pair of you… those kids are my favorites."

Marinette's eyes glinted, "So you mean they're a handful?" When Plagg nodded, she went on, "That's what I was afraid of!"

Plagg laughed and nuzzled up against her belly, purring. "You're not going to let me down, are you little one?"

* * *

She watched her husband playing on the floor with their three kids, Hugo, the oldest, was getting a little too old to think wrestling with a father dressed as a cat was cool, but for the sake of his younger brother Louis, and sister Emma, he would play along. Statler and Waldorf would pounce on any toes that would wiggle in their direction, much to the enjoyment of those getting pounced upon.

He was the handful that Plagg had promised. At 10, he was as handsome as his father, but he had his mother's eyes. 7-year-old Louis had his mother's dark hair and his father's green eyes, while 5 year old Emma was a carbon copy of her mother.

Tikki sat on Marinette's shoulder as she watched her family with a huge smile on her face. She had no idea how she was lucky enough that this was her life. Turning to her companion, she said, "I know that this isn't your first time to be with a Ladybug who has small children. Does it ever get old?"

Giggling, Tikki replied, "Of course! The kids always get older. Even kwamis can't stop time! But watching them? Watching a good father play with his children? Watching a loving mother tuck them into bed? No. That never gets old."

Glancing back over to the wrestling match, she caught her husband's eye as he stared at her adoringly, and she saw a little black kwami peeking out from her youngest's hair, laughing along with the rest of them.

* * *

"I can't believe they've all left me!" wailed Marinette as she sobbed into Adrien's shoulder. "Wasn't it just last week that we were changing Emma's diapers, and Hugo was complaining about Louis drawing on their bedroom wall? Now they're all off at university, or living out on their own, and our house is so quiet!"

Pulling his wife of nearly 30 years close to him, Adrien said, "It's just you and me, now, Bugaboo. That's how we started out, all those years ago. The four of us. You, me, Tikki and Plagg. Cheer up. The children aren't far, and they'll be back to visit us again on Sunday for dinner with your parents. I purromise you that they haven't disappeared. They know that we are always here for them and will be anytime they need something."

While he would never admit it out loud, Plagg agreed with Marinette. It was extremely quiet not having the kittens around. True, it also meant that nobody would be trying to take his cheese, but he definitely missed them.

He flew to Marinette's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek to show his support. "I can cataclysm something to liven things up if you'd like."

Laughing, Marinette shook her head at the little black cat, her mood lifted. "Thanks, Plagg. Not right now, but I'll let you know if things get that desperate."

* * *

"It's a boy! Louis and his wife Colette had a little baby boy! They named him Thomas after his great grandfather. I wish he was still around to see little Thomas. He would be so proud. Dad never did anything halfway, did he?" Marinette sighed. She was curled on the couch with Adrien; Tikki and Plagg settled close by.

"So, when do we go get to meet the new kitten?" Plagg asked. He had stopped trying to pretend that he didn't like babies years ago, and now claimed that he only liked babies because of the sheer variety of smells that they produced.

Adrien was all for transforming and running across town to meet their first grandchild, but Marinette cautioned him that the new family would likely want some time to themselves to start with. He deflated, and Marinette could practically see his kitty ears drooping, so she suggested they go out for a run, clear their minds, burn off some energy, then they could do some baking together so that Louis and Colette would have food for the first few weeks when they got back from the hospital, and wasn't that just the perfect excuse to go and visit them?

He immediately called for his transformation, and then Chat Noir, grandfather, turned and kissed his wife, pulling her close to him. "You are the most beautiful grandmother I've ever seen. Have I mentioned that I love you, Marinette?"

"I love you, too, Chat. Now and forever." Reaching up, she ran her fingers though his hair. "You're not so bad, either… for a grandpere." She grinned at him, before tugging him down by the bell, and kissing him, a lingering kiss that made them both smile.

* * *

The nurse left the room, and Plagg flew out from under the bed. "He's getting worse, isn't he? He doesn't even respond to 'Adrien' anymore. Not even when you say it."

Marinette smiled, tiredly. "He responds to Chat, though. He always did say that he was more himself as Chat Noir than he ever was as Adrien. I think that being here has been hardest on him. He's too old to transform, so the sweatshirt will have to do."

She looked over to her husband as he sat in his wheelchair. They'd just celebrated his 93rd birthday, surrounded by their kids, grand kids and great grandkids. Unfortunately, his mind was slipping, and he couldn't always stay in the present. What he remembered most were the times he'd spent as Chat Noir, and now always wore one of his black sweaters and a beanie with cat ears on it.

The care facility that they lived in was nice, they had their own room, and care whenever they needed it, but as was often the case with the black cat, his memory was fading, and he was living in the past. He regressed past the almost 70 years of marriage to his turbulent teen years, when they were superheroes saving Paris, and his cold, emotionally distant father was tormenting not only him, but all of Paris under the guise of Hawkmoth.

The nurses though that he was an adorable old man, and quite the gentleman. Plagg and Tikki were with them, now that they had moved to the retirement home, and they had promised to stay with them until they were needed elsewhere. They'd been together almost 80 years the four of them, and they could practically read each other's minds.

Adrien looked up at his wife, his once bright green eyes faded, but they still sparkled with happiness as he looked at her. "I love you, Bugaboo."

Tears stung her eyes as she looked back at him. "I love you too, Chat Noir. I always have, and I always will. I can't imagine my life without you."


End file.
